Indonesia calls on UN to issue condemnation of Israeli attacks

Dec 29, 2008, 10:15 GMT

Jakarta - Indonesia, home to the world's biggest Muslim population, on Monday urged the United Nations to hold a meeting to issue a resolution to demand that Israel stop its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Indonesia also pledged to send 1 million dollars in financial aid to the Palestinians.

'The UN Security Council should convene a formal meeting and issue a resolution to force Israel to stop the military offensive,' President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters. Indonesia also called for Israel and the Palestinians to return to the peace process.

A letter of condemnation over the Israel's military offensive had been addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Yudhoyono said after chairing a cabinet meeting to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.

'In the letter I stressed that the world community, especially the UN Security Council, must take steps quickly,' Yudhoyono was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

The Israeli offensive, launched Saturday in response to a wave of Palestinian-fired rockets, has killed over 300 people and wounded more than 600 so far.

Hours earlier, the head of the health ministry's crisis centre, Rustam Pakaya, said the Indonesian government would send medical aid and cash worth more than two billion rupiah (184,000 dollars) to the Palestinians.

Also on Monday, more than 1,000 protestors, mainly students and members of Muslim student organisations, rallied peacefully in central Jakarta, carrying Indonesian and Palestinian flags and banners protesting against the Israeli attacks.