Israeli MPs cancel Indonesia trip for fear of hostility

Speaker of the Israeli parliament Avraham Burg has cancelled a trip to Indonesia where he was to attend an Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting for fear of violent opposition, Indonesian news agency "ANTARA" reports this Wednesday quoting the Israeli radio.

Indonesian Muslim groups have objected to Israel's planned participation in the conference beginning in Jakarta on October 15, blaming the Jewish state for the bloodshed in the Middle East.

Indonesia's Justice Party warned the presence of the Israeli delegates at the meeting which opens Sunday could spark violence in the world's largest Muslim-populated country.

"It should be kept in mind that in the matter of the use of catapults, Indonesians are much more adept than their brothers who are launching the intifada in Palestine," it said.

Antara recalls that Anti-Israeli sentiment has been on the rise in Indonesia, amid the violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip which has left around 100 people dead, mostly Palestinians, in 13 days.

Over the last few days several anti-Israel groups mounted protest marches throughout the country against the House of Representatives (DPR) as host of the conference, over its failure to stop members of the Israeli Knesset from coming. Legislators from several Islamic-based parties had threatened to boycott the conference.