Meanwhile, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said it had already recruit 300 'mujahedins' from across the country to send to Gaza. -- PHOTO: AP
JAKARTA - SENDING aid to Palestinians in Gaza would be more useful than dispatching fighters as some Indonesian militant Muslim groups are suggesting, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Several militant groups in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, said they were recruiting volunteers to help fight Israel in response to air strikes on Gaza which began on Saturday.
But foreign affairs minister Hassan Wirajuda said that 'giving humanitarian aid to ease the pain of the victims' would be more realistic.
'The intention is to help our brothers who are suffering. But the goodwill has to be adjusted to the condition of the area,' Mr Wirajuda was quoted as saying by the Detikcom news website.
The Israeli offensive, launched in response to a wave of Palestinian-fired rockets, has killed at least 360 people and wounded more than 1,000 so far.
The Indonesian government, which on Monday condemned the air strikes, has pledged to send medical supplies and more than US$1 million (S$1.44 million) in cash to help the victims.
Meanwhile, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said it had already recruit 300 'mujahedins' from across the country to send to Gaza.
'We'll keep recruiting mujahedins until the group reaches 1,000 or maybe more,' FPI spokesman Umar Nawawi told AFP.
'Some of the volunteers will be fighters and some will be medical personnel,' he said, adding they were waiting for the government's permission.
'Humanitarian aid is good, but it's going to be slow if we send them through the government as there are many bureaucracies. Most of our brothers could be dead before they receive the aid,' he said. -- AFP
