Indonesia Highlights: Saudi Arabia Will Organize Haj Pilgrimage This Year | Indonesian Condemns Israel over Evictions of Palestinian Worshippers at Al-Aqsa | Homecoming Travelers Who Brave the Sea Cau

KOMPAS.com – Saudi Arabia has announced that it will organize the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca this year, but under strict rules to ensure the well-being and safety of the pilgrims.

Indonesia has condemned Israel’s violence against Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and the forced eviction of six Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in East Jerusalem.

Below are the editors’ picks stories published on Kompas.com:

Saudi Arabia Will Organize Haj Pilgrimage This Year

Saudi Arabia will organize the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca this year, its Ministry of Haj and Umrah said on Sunday, May 9.

Gulf Today reported that the implementation of this year’s Haj pilgrimage will be carried out under strict health protocols to ensure the well-being and security of the pilgrims amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ministry said that the country’s health authorities are continuing to assess the current condition and take all necessary steps for the implementation of the upcoming Haj pilgrimage.

“The mechanism and conditions for holding the Haj this year will be announced later,” Reuters news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

Last year, the Kingdom allowed a limited number of domestic pilgrims to perform the Haj.

Source: https://www.kompas.com/global/read/2021/05/10/085357870/breaking-news-arab-saudi-gelar-ibadah-haji-2021.

Indonesian Condemns Israel over Evictions of Palestinian Worshippers at Al-Aqsa

Shutterstock An image of Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Indonesia has condemned Israel’s violence against Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and the forced eviction of six Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in East Jerusalem.

“Indonesia equally condemns the use of force against Palestinian civilians at the Al-Aqsa mosque complex which has injured hundreds of people and hurt the feelings of Muslims,” said the Indonesian Foreign Ministry in the @Kemlu_RI Twitter handle on Sunday, May 9.

The ministry said that such forced eviction and the use of force are contrary to various United Nations Security Council resolutions, International Humanitarian Law, particularly the IV Geneva Convention of 1949, and have the potential to increase tension and instability in the region.

Therefore, Indonesia urged the international community to take concrete steps to put a stop to the forced evictions of Palestinian and the use of force against them.

Reuters news agency reported that Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.

At least 205 Palestinians and 17 officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam's third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear.

Tension has mounted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with nightly clashes in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah - a neighborhood where numerous Palestinian families face eviction in a long-running legal case. Calls for calm and restraint poured in on Friday from the United States and the United Nations, with others including the European Union and Jordan voicing alarm at the possible evictions.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/05/09/223630474/indonesian-condemns-israel-over-evictions-of-palestinian-worshippers-at-al-aqsa.

Homecoming Travelers Who Brave the Sea Caught by Marine Patrol in Jakarta Bay

Kemenhub Indonesia's marine patrol officers intercepted service boats carrying homecoming travelers amid Idul Fitri travel ban during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A marine patrol team under Indonesia’s Directorate-General for Sea Transportation has intercepted service boats carrying homecoming travelers a few days ahead of the Idul Fitri holidays.

The travelers were warned and told to return by the sea patrol officers in Jakarta Bay on Sunday, May 9. The marine patrol was done as part of the efforts to prevent the potential transmission of the Covid-19 during the Islamic holiday following the government announcement of an internal travel ban.

"Today, we started our marine patrols to control the sea transportation ahead of Idul Fitri celebrations in the Jakarta Bay," said Ahmad, director of the Sea and Coast Guard Unit (KPLP) at the Ministry of Transportation, in a statement on Sunday, May 9.

During the patrol, Ahmad added, the marine patrol officers found people who were trying to return to their hometowns using service boats from Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta. The service ship serves a commercial vessel’s needs such as anchor handling services before docking at the port. “We found three service boats carrying passengers who were still desperate to return to their hometowns and we managed to stop them,” Ahmad said, adding that they were asked to return following an explanation.

He said the officers received information that some service boats from the coast of Jakarta Bay were used to transport the homecoming travelers to Cirebon and its surroundings in West Java province. Based on the information, the relevant agencies then tightened their surveillance.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/05/10/020212574/homecoming-travelers-who-brave-the-sea-caught-by-marine-patrol-in-jakarta-bay.