FOZ Urges Government to Conduct Emergency Diplomacy to Free GSF Activists
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Zakat Forum (FOZ) is urging the Indonesian Government to immediately take decisive and emergency diplomatic steps following the detention of nine Indonesian humanitarian activists during the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2.0 mission, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters.
FOZ General Chair Wildhan Dewayana stated that the interception of the humanitarian fleet constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and poses a threat to the safety of global humanitarian volunteers.
“We request that the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, immediately take urgent, firm, and progressive diplomatic steps in various international forums to ensure the safety and release of Indonesian humanitarian activists,” Wildhan said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
FOZ noted that the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 consisted of 50 humanitarian ships carrying 337 activists and journalists from various countries, including nine volunteers from Indonesia representing zakat institutions and humanitarian journalists.
According to information received as of 19 May 2026, 40 ships were reported to have been intercepted and forcibly hijacked by Israeli forces in international waters. Several activists are reported to have been detained, including nine Indonesian citizens.
Wildhan assessed that the seizure of medical supplies, food, and logistics within the fleet is a form of depriving the Palestinian people of their right to life, as well as an disregard for the humanitarian solidarity of the international community.
“This repressive action is not merely the ordinary detention of logistics, but rather the seizure of the trust of Indonesian people’s aid intended for the people of Palestine,” he said.
He emphasised that Israel’s military actions contravene Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, as well as Additional Protocols I, Articles 70 and 71, which regulate the protection of humanitarian workers and unhindered access to aid.
FOZ also called upon the United Nations (UN) and the international community to take concrete steps to ensure the opening of maritime and land humanitarian corridors to Gaza.
Furthermore, FOZ invited the Indonesian public to continue monitoring the Palestinian humanitarian issue and to strengthen solidarity through public support and social media.
“We call upon all Indonesian people to never tire of overseeing humanitarian actions and to fully support the struggle for the independence of the Palestinian people,” he concluded.