MPR Deputy Speaker Condemns Israeli Actions at Al Aqsa, Urges OIC and UN to Push for Peace

Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW) has strongly condemned Israel’s actions against Al Aqsa Mosque, which have recurred in the lead-up to and during the month of Ramadan. Israel is reported to have arrested the imam and preacher of Al Aqsa Mosque and restricted the number of worshippers at Friday prayers, despite Ramadan being a month of worship for Muslims.

HNW urged the Indonesian government, together with member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) represented on the Board of Peace (BOP), to immediately address and halt Israeli crimes, including efforts to advance peace and a two-state solution.

“Israel’s repeated crimes against Al Aqsa Mosque further prove that Israel does not desire peace, let alone the establishment of a Palestinian state. It also provides additional evidence that Israel is using the Board of Peace as a cover to continue its colonial agenda over Palestine as a step towards realising its claim of a Greater Israel, whose borders extend into various territories beyond Palestine. This must be immediately stopped by Indonesia together with OIC member states on the BOP,” he said in a written statement on Friday (20 February 2026).

He called on Indonesia to take a leading role alongside friendly OIC nations on the Board of Peace, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar, to make the safety of Al Aqsa Mosque a primary agenda item.

“OIC member states on the Board of Peace should make the safety of Al Aqsa Mosque and the freedom to practise the Islamic faith within it an essential condition for achieving peace and ending the war,” he said.

“This also represents continued proof of the OIC’s consistent struggle to fulfil the purpose for which it was established in 1969, one of whose primary objectives is to safeguard Al Aqsa Mosque — which to this day has not become safer but rather more endangered, thus requiring additional advocacy. This must be collectively impressed upon OIC member states on the Board of Peace as evidence that their presence on the BOP can indeed be effective in ending war and colonisation towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, which has already been recognised by 153 UN member states,” he added.

Nevertheless, HNW argued that freedom of worship at Al Aqsa Mosque is not solely an OIC matter but also the concern of all United Nations member states. He noted that since 2016, UNESCO has designated Al Aqsa as a heritage site of the Islamic faith.

“Therefore, the legitimacy of Muslims to worship there is very strong and their rights must be guaranteed. When these rights continue to be violated by Israel, they must also continue to be defended and championed, including through the BOP,” he explained.

He added that the freedom of Palestinian citizens to worship is also enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), established in 1948 and upheld as a reference for all nations worldwide.

“If the UDHR remains a shared reference, then all UN member states should reject and halt the crimes and religious restrictions imposed by Israel at Al Aqsa Mosque,” he stated.

HNW also cited the preamble of the UDHR, which reads: “Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,” as a common reference point.

According to him, this formulation describes the current situation in Palestine, where the Palestinian people are compelled to resist because their right to worship and their freedom from colonisation remain unfulfilled.

“Therefore, if peace is truly to be achieved through the BOP, then the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence must be immediately granted within a strong framework of the rule of law. Correcting Israel’s criminal conduct against Al Aqsa Mosque through the BOP can also serve as a marker of consistency and seriousness in ending the war, achieving peace, and defending an independent Palestine,” he concluded.