Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto said the government is prepared to bring Palestinian refugees numbering 1,000 from Gaza and send them to Islamic boarding schools in East Java to further their education.
The proposal, first brought up by the former governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa, would be submitted to President Joko Widodo for consideration.
Prabowo – who is the current defence minister – was quoted as saying by Antara news agency on Jun 7.
He pledged to coordinate with the secretary-general of the United Nations and other state leaders regarding how the technical implementation of accepting refugees from Gaza will be.
Corroborating the stance, Mdm Khofifah, who is the chairperson of the women’s wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said that she has coordinated with Islamic boarding schools in East Java to care for and educate children from the Palestinian territories.
“We have communicated with the Palestinian ambassador, and this university (Universitas Islam Malang/Unisma) is ready to provide 50 undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral scholarships for Palestinian students,” she said.
Prabowo further revealed that apart from East Java, several public figures in West Java have also made known their intention to accept refugees from Gaza and place them in Islamic boarding schools.
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