Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday issued a strong condemnation of Israel following an attack on United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon that left three Indonesian soldiers injured.
The soldiers were serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a peacekeeping mission established in 1978 to oversee the cessation of hostilities in the region and ensure the security of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
“We strongly condemn [the attack],” Joko said in the statement broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel. “Peacekeepers should not be attacked, and yet they’ve been injured in this incident,” he added.
Two Indonesian troops were injured on October 10 during an Israeli assault on UNIFIL’s post in Naqoura, a coastal town in southern Lebanon, according to Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry.
A third Indonesian peacekeeper was wounded in a subsequent attack on Sunday at the same base, the ministry said.
Israel’s army acknowledged opening fire but said that the Hezbollah militia is operating near the UNIFIL positions.
Hezbollah has been launching missiles at Israel from Lebanon since the start of the Gaza war a year ago. According to the militia, it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Indonesia is the largest contributor to the 10,000-strong UNIFIL with approximately 1,300 peacekeepers deployed, according to the UN.
Indonesia last week called for a full investigation into the attack, saying that Israel must be held accountable for the actions of its forces.
UNIFIL reported that an Israeli Merkava tank fired at the observation post, causing the injuries, and confirmed that Israeli forces have continued to target UN positions in the area.
