Deputy FM says Israel has secret talks with Indonesia

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely says Israel and Indonesia are engaged in secret diplomatic contacts, days after Palestinian officials said Israel blocked Jakarta’s top diplomat from visiting Ramallah.

“Even though there are no formal ties, there are ongoing contacts between us and Indonesia on a range of issues,” Hotovely says in the Knesset.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely gives a press conference on November 3, 2015, in the Lipski plastic factory at the Barkan Industrial Park near the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, on the European Union decision to label goods made in Jewish settlements. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

She confirms that Israel blocked Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi from meeting Palestinian leaders in Ramallah on Sunday because she refused to hold contacts with Israeli officials as well.

“There have been secret contacts with Indonesia, with which we don’t have diplomatic relations, and there were understandings that were coarsely broken and so we blocked her entry. This was a breach of diplomatic protocol, and the most honorable thing to do is to respect the protocols, so when you break them don’t be surprised that you block yourself from visiting the [Palestinian Authority],” she says.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has no official diplomatic ties with Israel. Last week, Jakarta hosted PA President Mahmoud Abbas and other Muslim leaders for a major conference on the Palestinian issue.