Gus Yahya: NU will always stand by Palestinians

Jakarta, NU Online

The General Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), KH Yahya Cholil Staquf (Gus Yahya), emphasized that NU would continue to stand by the Palestinians. He will always find  solutions to the problems faced by the Palestinians.

"NU has always stood by the Palestinians. We want to find a way no matter what happens, no matter how narrow it is to make breakthroughs so that the Palestinian people have the opportunity to build a future," said Gus Yahya while attending the 57th Anniversary of the Palestine National Liberation Movement, at the residence of Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun in Jakarta, Monday (10/1/2022).

According to him, the unity of political factions in Palestine between Hamas and Fatah is one of the things that must be fought for in the future. Gus Yahya stressed that the world's citizens must put all the subjective interests of each party and focus on thinking about the fate of the Palestinian people.

"This is not only for the Palestinian people but for all of humanity, because we must be able to understand that the fate of Palestine is actually the fate of humanity," said the cleric who once served as Spokesperson of the former President KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur).

Gus Yahya added that the problem of the Palestinian people had become a stain on humanity. Citizens of the world must earnestly find a way to provide a decent future for the Palestinian people, so that all human beings also have the right to a good civilization.

In the future, he said, PBNU would take really concrete steps and could  provide a way forward. This, according to Gus Yahya, is very much needed and is an effort that must go beyond official diplomacy.

"We have to try outside of official diplomacy because the problem is very complex, it has been for so long, so that if we only rely on official diplomacy, of course it will not be enough, we have to do things outside official diplomacy. Many things are outside of formal diplomacy and we still have to go through so that we continue to find a way out," added Gus Yahya.

In addition, the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al Shun asked the world community to stand firm in protecting the Palestinian people from attacks carried out by Israel.

“We call on the international community to protect the Palestinian people against the occupation of Palestinian property and land. I reiterate that the Palestinian people will remain on their own land," he said.

He stressed that the Palestinian people would also continue to fight for independence and sovereignty over the land. "And the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," he added.

Reporter: Aru Lego Triono

Editor: Sudarto Murtaufiq