Statement by
Mr Prayono Atiyanto
Member of the Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia
to the United Nations before the Security Council
on the Situation in the Middle East

New York, 23 March 2004

 

Mr. President,

The delegation of Indonesia is appalled to learn of the assassination by Israel on Sunday, of the leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. That attempt led, even more sadly, to the deaths of eight others, and we strongly condemn it.

In our view, Israel's policy of targeted assassinations is not only illegal under international law, it cannot guarantee peace. If Israel's objective is peace; if peace is the jewel that Israel seeks through the often brutal deployment of the Israel Defense Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; if peace is the reward for which Israel hunts in its construction of the separation wall, the methods of the Government of Israel unlikely to yield any of these dreams.

My delegation is convinced that the militaristic approach of the Government of Israel does not favour the Government of Israel. The strategy has only yielded further return violence. Consequently, it is easy to see that this strategy is not in the interest of the ordinary people of Israel, who are in the frontline of revenge attacks.

My delegation calls on Israel to recognize that its future is best served by returning to the negotiating table with the Palestinians. We call on Israel to recognize that peace has a far better chance through dialogue than through military force. We call on Israel to recognize that peace has a far better chance through the support of the international community, available through the implementation of the Road Map, than in the language of bullets and bulldozers. Israel must immediately terminate the practice of extra-judicial killings of Palestinians, and return its faith to negotiations. Only such an approach can lead to peace, and to a just and comprehensive settlement as anticipated in the Road Map.
Thank you.