Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to East Timor
East Timor: relations with "Israel" since 2002, handled from Singapore, President Ramos-Horta's condemnation of the war in Gaza, Israeli Skyhawks flown in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation, and East Timor's UN vote
East Timor (Timor-Leste) established relations with "Israel" in 2002, the year of its independence.[1] "Israel" is represented by its ambassador in Singapore,[2] and in September 2025 President José Ramos-Horta condemned what he called "the genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank".[3] During the Indonesian occupation, Indonesian pilots trained in "Israel" to fly A-4 Skyhawks bought secretly from it "went straight into military service in East Timor", according to a 2024 study.[4]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with East Timor as established in May 2002, with "Israel" represented by its ambassador in Singapore.[1] On 19 February 2025 Eliyahu Vered Hazan, Israeli ambassador resident in Singapore, presented his credentials to Ramos-Horta in Dili.[2]
In February 2011 President José Ramos-Horta visited "Israel". He told Kol Israel radio that East Timor would raise its Palestinian envoy to the rank of ambassador, but that this did not mean recognising a Palestinian state. During the visit he said he wanted to develop economic, agricultural and security cooperation with "Israel", and asked for its help in protecting his country's coast.[5]
In April 2024 the government said that it "firmly supports a two-state solution" and "the right of the peoples of Palestine and Israel to live side by side in peace, with dignity, and in safety".[6]
On 12 September 2025 Ramos-Horta issued a statement condemning the Israeli strike in Doha on 9 September against the Hamas delegation negotiating a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and reiterated his condemnation of "the genocide and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank" by the Israeli armed forces. He wrote that "Hamas must also answer for crimes perpetrated not only against Israeli civilians but also for crimes committed against Palestinian patriots over many bloody decades."[3]
Arms
In a 2024 journal article, Fidel Satrio Hadiyanto and Singgih Tri Sulistiyono describe the secret purchase of 32 ex-Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawks by Indonesia, an operation code-named Operation Alpha. In April 1981 Indonesia signed a Letter of Agreement for 16 aircraft at $26.8 million. A second agreement replaced "1 Skyhawk that was damaged in East Timor as part of the warranty on the previous purchase". The authors write that the Indonesian pilots, trained in "Israel", were taken to a US Marine base in Arizona as a cover story and, after returning to Indonesia, "went straight into military service in East Timor".[4] In 2017 BBC Indonesia quoted the Middle East scholar Ali Munhanif as linking the purchase to international criticism of Indonesia over East Timor.[7] The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records the deliveries of A-4E Skyhawks to Indonesia in 1979–83, routed through the United States.[8]
Political interference
UN voting
East Timor voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[9]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Brunei
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Cambodia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Indonesia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Laos
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Malaysia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Myanmar
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Philippines
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Singapore
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Thailand
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Vietnam
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Australia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Papua New Guinea
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Presidency of the Republic of Timor-Leste, Press Release – President Ramos-Horta Receives Letters of Credence From Ambassadors of 12 Nations presidenciarepublica.tl, 19 February 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Presidency of the Republic of Timor-Leste, Press Statement – Condemnation of Israel's attack in Doha against the Hamas negotiation delegation and solidarity with the victims' families presidenciarepublica.tl, 13 September 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fidel Satrio Hadiyanto and Singgih Tri Sulistiyono, National Interests are above International Affairs: Indonesian-Israeli Intelligence Operations on the Purchase of A-4 Skyhawks, 1978-1982 Jurnal Maritim Sejarah Nusantara Indonesia, vol. 8, no. 2, 2024, pp. 71–82, doi:10.14710/jmsni.v8i2.22825, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Le Timor oriental relève le niveau de ses relations diplomatiques avec les Palestiniens Guysen Israel News, 16 February 2011 (copy at juif.org), accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Government of Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste statement on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict timor-leste.gov.tl, 23 April 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Hubungan rahasia Indonesia-Israel: Operasi Alpha, temu Suharto-Rabin, pembelian pesawat tempur BBC News Indonesia, 12 December 2017, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).