Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called to “liberate Palestine” during a speech in East Java, at a ceremony marking 100 years since the founding of the Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor Ponorogo Islamic boarding school. Footage from the event shows Subianto wearing a keffiyeh given to him by the ‘Palestinian’ ‘ambassador’ to Indonesia, Abd al-Fattah al-Stari, and chanting “Free Palestine” several times.
The remarks come nearly a year after the Indonesian president—leader of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation—struck a completely different tone from the podium of the UN General Assembly. There he spoke in surprisingly warm terms about Israel, saying the world must “recognize, respect, and ensure the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we achieve true peace.” He even ended his UN speech with the Hebrew word “shalom.”
The shift also comes amid reports published earlier about the possibility that Subianto would visit Israel after a ceasefire deal and hostage release in Gaza. Indonesia firmly denied those reports at the time, reiterating its support for the ‘Palestinians.’ Now, at the public event in Java, the Indonesian president sounded completely different. According to the Indonesian news agency Antara, Subianto said in his speech that attacks against the ‘Palestinians’ should motivate Indonesia to build its national strength so it can help “oppressed peoples.”