JAKARTA –— On Saturday (November 8, 2025), at the Nusantara Hall, Indonesian House of Representatives Building, Jakarta, the “Asia Pacific Conference for Palestine” was held and resulted in a joint recommendation document titled The Asia Pacific Declaration for Palestine 2025. A total of 125 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Cambodia attended all sessions, both plenary and parallel, starting on Friday (October 7, 2025). The collective efforts of the Asia-Pacific community to stop the genocide in Palestine have reached a new strategic phase.
The conference produced the Asia Pacific Declaration, which emphasizes support for Palestinian independence, punishment for perpetrators of genocide, and, among other things, sparked the idea of establishing the Gaza Development Fund, a proposal from Dompet Dhuafa, which was entrusted with being the resource person for formulating the concept of post-conflict Palestinian recovery. The conference also designated Jakarta as the headquarters of the Asia Pacific Global Coalition on Al-Quds and Palestine (GCAP). Thus, the long-standing efforts of the Asia-Pacific civil society to help build a sovereign Palestine have been officially launched.
The presence of Dompet Dhuafa Foundation Chairman Ahmad Juwaini as a speaker in Parallel Session 4 Room 2 reinforced Dompet Dhuafa’s position as a frontrunner in humanitarian philanthropy. In the session “Asia Pacific Joint Action Agenda for Palestine,” Dompet Dhuafa presented a crucial topic: Gaza Development Fund (GDF): Joint Endowment Movement. This initiative marks a shift in the focus of aid from mere emergency response to a long-term framework that supports Gaza’s reconstruction and Palestinian independence programs.
The Gaza Development Fund (GDF) is a strategic funding mechanism designed to support the comprehensive and sustainable recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. This fund focuses on developing productive sectors, strengthening community economic capacity, and building resilient social and economic infrastructure.
The Gaza Development Fund has a vision of becoming an instrument that manages sustainable and independent financial resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, social services, and the strengthening of Gaza’s local economy, as well as ensuring dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Read also: Dompet Dhuafas Strategic Move: Strengthening the Asia-Pacific Alliance for an Independent Palestine
“Dompet Dhuafa strongly supports this conference, and thank God, we have the opportunity to be a resource person to convey ideas about the Gaza Development Fund, which is dedicated to raising funds to help the people of Gaza, especially in providing the necessary infrastructure such as hospitals, clinics, schools, markets, mosques, and other facilities in other strategic sectors,” said Ahmad Juwaini.
“The GDF is a pattern of fundraising from the community consisting of an Endowment Fund and a Non-Endowment Fund. We will invest the endowment fund and use the proceeds to build beneficial projects in Gaza. And we can use the Non-Endowment Fund for immediate needs,” he explained.
The Endowment Fund is sourced from waqf (endowment) funds that are managed productively to generate long-term and sustainable benefits, with a minimum target investment return of 6% per year. The proceeds from the management of these waqf funds become a source of fixed financing for the Gaza development program. There is one holding account established by the legal entity of the forum, and/or each institution uses its own account, but the management follows the GDF system.
Meanwhile, the Non-Endowment Fund comes from ZIS (Zakat, Infak, Sedekah), CSR, and other public donations, which are used directly for operational financing, infrastructure development, and short- and medium-term recovery needs.
“After this, of course, we must strengthen our synergy with all institutions involved and those concerned with Palestine, both nationally and internationally. Strengthen the sectors, work with good governance, in a shared network. Of course, we are grateful to the MUI because this is a wide-open door,” added Ahmad Juwaini.
Read also: What Do the Palestinian People Need Most Right Now, and How Can We Help?
In the same session, Ambassador of the Global Alliance of Humanity Solidarity for Palestine, Yuli Mumpuni Widarso, bluntly called for total diplomacy.
“If in the world of soccer there is the term ‘total football’, then I use ‘total diplomacy’ for Palestine. Palestine has been suffering since the state of Israel was formed, not since October 7, 2023,” he exclaimed.
“We are a concrete force. Because of this (solidarity), in the last two years, many countries have become aware of and recognized Palestine,” added Yuli.
In line with this, strengthening the community, especially creative young people, and centralized information are ideas that have emerged to show concern for Palestine. Maimon Herawati, an academic and member of the Youth & Women’s Movement Alliance, called for open access for creative young people to policy makers. This is because these young people will also become humanitarian actors for Palestine in the future. Similarly, Fauziah Abd Hasan, Head of the Asia Pacific Public Literacy Movement, expressed the idea of launching solidarity literature for Palestine on a centralized platform.
Also giving a statement at the end of the event, MUI Secretary General Amirsyah Tambunan said, “Dompet Dhuafa has made a real contribution to the success of the Asia Pacific Conference for Palestine. We know that Dompet Dhuafa was born out of a desire to defend humanity and poverty in order to uplift human dignity. Therefore, our brothers and sisters in Palestine are part of universal humanity and humanity that can motivate us all.”
The conference, entitled “Strengthening the Alliance to Defend Palestine,” was organized by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) together with the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) of the Indonesian House of Representatives, the Global Coalition for Al-Quds and Palestine, and a number of other philanthropic institutions. This event is a follow-up to the Global Coalition meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, and aims to strengthen solidarity, formulate concrete steps, and build a common agenda in the Asia-Pacific region.
Read also: Dompet Dhuafa Delivers 100 Tons of Humanitarian Aid to Palestine, Entrusted by the Indonesian People
Through Dompet Dhuafa’s strategic role as a formulator of sustainable funding concepts, this Asia Pacific Conference for Palestine is expected to not only strengthen moral and diplomatic support, but also lay a solid foundation for the recovery and future independence of the Palestinian people. May every step of kindness taken in solidarity with Palestine be part of a joint effort to restore their human rights. Let’s help them together through digital.dompetdhuafa.org/donasi/daruratpalestina. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photos: Dhika
Editor: Dedi Fadlil