Jakarta. Four Indonesian evacuees from the occupied West Bank and its nearby areas had safely arrived in Jakarta on Sunday as the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas still shows no sign of stopping.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the 4 evacuees had traveled by land route from a safehouse in Jerusalem to the Jordanian capital of Amman through the Jordan river borders. 

There are still over a hundred Indonesians in Israel and Palestine. These people feel that they are still safe, thus refusing to be evacuated. The Indonesian government cannot force its citizens to leave the area without the latter's consent.

“As many as 136 Indonesians are still in the West Bank and its surrounding territories. They have decided to stay,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry was quoted as saying in a press statement.

Indonesia is also currently trying to get 10 of its citizens out of the Gaza Strip. The United Nations (UN) recently warned that Gaza was on the brink of running out of food, water, electricity, and critical supplies. 

The Foreign Affairs Ministry last week reported that 3 of the 10 Indonesians stuck in Gaza were volunteers. Others are two families of Indonesians who had married locals. 

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had been in contact with some of her counterparts on the Israel-Palestine conflict. This includes Malaysia's Zambry Abdul Kadir and Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib, among others. In these phone calls, Indonesia highlighted the need to protect the civilians in Gaza. 

Also, Retno recently got in touch with Mirjana Spoljaric, the president at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to discuss evacuation efforts. Retno on Monday also talked with European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell.

“I reiterated the importance of prioritizing humanitarian issues, as the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate,” Retno wrote on the social media platform X on Monday, commenting on her phone call with Borrell.

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