STATEMENT OF AQSA WORKING GROUP (AWG)
“NETANYAHU AND HIS CABINET REPRESENT THE TRUE FACE OF ZIONISM; RACIST AND XENOPHOBIC”
Netanyahu was sworn in on December 29, 2022, as Prime Minister of Israel. Even though he was the person most responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people while leading the Zionists in the previous periods, 1996-1999 and 2009-2021.
During this period, Netanyahu was openly committed to making the expansion of the occupied territories in the West Bank his top priority. In other words, they will increase the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, which has been carried out brutally and against world condemnation.
In addition, the ministers appointed to fill his cabinet are hard-line Jews, extremists, and ultranationalists. Some examples are Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Avi Maoz.
The first week after being sworn in, the regime committed gross humanitarian violations; it started genocide, ethnic cleansing, and blasphemy against the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. They shot dead three Palestinians, one of whom was a 15-year-old child. destroying houses belonging to Palestinians. Meanwhile, Itamar Ben Gvir, a racist figure who was appointed minister of national security, insulted the Al-Aqsa Mosque, provoking not only Palestinians but even Muslims worldwide.
Therefore, Aqsa Working Group convey the following position statement:
- Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet are a racist group that always attacks Arabs and Muslims. Ben Gvir has led extremist Jewish marches on Al Quds several times, shouting “death to Arabs” and insulting the Prophet Muhammad Shallallhu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
- This cabinet also represents the true face of Zionism, namely the extreme fear of other people who are different and not in line with their interests (xenophobia). Everyone who does not support Zionism will be accused of being anti-Semitic, even if they are of the Jewish race themselves. Apart from that, their defamation of Al Aqsa and preventing Muslims from worshiping there is also a form of xenophobia.
- The Aqsa Working Group (AWG) condemned the action of the minister of national security, Itamar Ben Gvir, breaking into the Al Aqsa Mosque. This is a gross violation of human rights principles and must be confronted. As stated in QS. Al Hajj verse 40, Islam commands that places of worship be preserved and glorified for the benefit of humanity.
- The AWG calls on all world leaders to stand against this new racist and xenophobic regime, which is very dangerous for peace in the region and the world. Don’t let the hard efforts of the United Nations and world leaders so far to bring peace to the land of Palestine become stalled or even set back.
- The Indonesian government is called on to continue to be firm in carrying out the constitutional mandate and reject all kinds of colonization on earth. One form of this commitment is to refuse the presence of the Israeli national team at the U-20 World Cup, which will be held in 2023 in Indonesia. Because Zionist Israel is an occupying entity that has never heeded UN resolutions.
- All Muslims around the world are called upon to unite and move together to liberate Al-Aqsa and Palestine. Because only with unity can tyranny be defeated, with the permission of Allah Ta’ala. All factions, particularly the Palestinian people, are urged to make every effort to achieve national unity (QS. Ali Imran 103). It is also called on Muslims and all elements of society who uphold humanity and anti-imperialism to continue to strengthen their prayers, support, and assistance for the independence of the Palestinian people and the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
- AWG calls on the Palestinian people to remain patient and optimistic to continue to inflame the resistance. The Indonesian nation and the world community, who are anti-tyranny and anti-imperialism, will continue to support and assist. More than that, Allah Ta’ala will always be with those who are against tyranny. “Indeed, Allah’s help is very close” (QS. Al Baqarah 214). In fact, the increasing brutality of the Israeli Zionists shows that their destruction is getting closer (QS. Al Isra 7).
Allahu Akbar, Al Aqsa Haqquna!
Jakarta, 11 Jumadil Akhir 1444H/04 January 2023
Aqsa Working Group (AWG)
Nur Ikhwan Abadi
Chief of Presidium Board