Palestinian Prez to visit Indonesia this month

Jakarta, June 9: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will discuss the Middle East crisis with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 23 during a visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation, Jakarta said today.

''Of course, they will discuss the latest situation on the ground, including the talked about referendum,'' Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman Desra Percaya told a news conference.

Abbas, who comes from the former ruling Fatah group, is expected to issue a decree on Saturday to hold a July 31 referendum on a Palestinian statehood proposal implicitly recognising Israel.

His rivals from Hamas, a group seeking the demise of Israel, swept legislative elections in January and took control of the executive branch late in March.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a Hamas stalwart, called on Indonesia during a visit to Jakarta last month to take a role in the troubled Middle East peace process and branded previous Abbas talks with Israel a waste.

Indonesia plans to dispatch diplomats to the Palestinian territories and is studying whether it could set up an office in Gaza.

Indonesia is legally secular and its Islamic populace is largely moderate, but many Indonesian Muslims are passionately pro-Palestinian and the government has no formal ties with Israel.

Israel and the United States have sought to isolate the new Palestinian government since Hamas rose to power.

Abbas, elected last year in a separate presidential poll, supports the two-state solution on the disputed land and has been at odds with Hamas leaders since Fatah lost power.

''The (Indonesian) government reminds the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian leaders that there is a need for maintaining unity among themselves,'' Percaya said.

Reuters