THE Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) will become “irrelevant” if it can’t win freedom for Palestine, Indonesian President Joko Widodo warned yesterday.

“Jokowi” quoted the late president Sukarno, who vowed that Indonesia would fight the Israeli occupation until Palestine was free, at the opening of the OIC’s United for a Just Solution conference in Jakarta.

“We, the Indonesian nation, are consistent with our promises,” he told the assembled representatives of 57 nations and five permanent members of the UN security council.

“Today, Indonesia is standing up together with other OIC member countries to continue the unfinished struggle.”

Mr Widodo called for Palestinian unity and international solidarity in the face of Israel’s “unilateral and illegal policies.”

He said: “Unity is needed. We have to unite, Palestine must unite, Palestine must carry out reconciliation.

“Indonesia is ready to help the reconciliation process.”

Turning to the OIC, founded in the wake of Israel’s victory in the 1967 anti-Israel war, he said the organisation “should be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

“If the OIC cannot be part of the solution to Palestine, then the OIC becomes irrelevant.”

Later, Mr Widodo greeted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before the two held a bilateral meeting.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said her country — the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation — wanted to host the event to put Palestine back on the agenda.

“The Palestine-Israel conflict is complicated,” she said. “However, Indonesia won’t be silent in seeking to resolve the problems.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said his country had not wavered in its belief that Palestine needs independence and the right to determine its own affairs.

“The condition of Palestinians has always been a concern for Muslims in the world,” he said. “Resolving the Al-Quds issue can create peace in the region,” he added, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

The recent spate of attacks on Israeli settlers and shootings of Palestinian protesters followed Tel Aviv’s latest provocations over Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.