TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Tempo English compiled the top 3 news on Saturday, August 16, 2025. Here are the highlights: Prabowo Pledges Rp178.7 Trillion for Teachers and Lecture Welfare in 2026 Budget; Indonesia Has Never Negotiated with Israel Over Gaza Evacuation: Foreign Minister; and Amnesty: 758 Criminalized Under ITE Law Despite President’s Call for Criticism.

The following is the list of the top 3 news on Tempo English today:

1. Prabowo Pledges Rp178.7 Trillion for Teachers and Lecture Welfare in 2026 Budget

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto will allocate Rp178.7 trillion for teacher and lecturer salaries and competency development when presenting the 2026 state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN) at the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly at the parliament complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on August 15, 2025.

This Rp178.7 trillion is part of a total 2026 budget of Rp757.8 trillion, or roughly 20 percent. Prabowo stated that this is the largest education allocation in Indonesia’s history, but emphasized that the funds must be properly targeted.

He promised to improve teacher quality and strengthen vocational education to meet workforce needs.

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2. Indonesia Has Never Negotiated with Israel Over Gaza Evacuation: Foreign Minister

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Sugiono, reaffirmed that Indonesia has never engaged in negotiations with Israel regarding the transfer of residents from Gaza, Palestine.

“We have never negotiated with them (Israel),” he said after the Annual Session of the People’s Consultative Assembly 2025 at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, August 15, 2025, according to Antara.

The statement came in response to reports that Israel is negotiating with five countries for the transfer of Gaza residents, including Indonesia.

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3. Amnesty: 758 Criminalized Under ITE Law Despite President’s Call for Criticism

Amnesty International Indonesia reported that 758 civilians have been criminalized under the vague provisions of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE Law) between January 2018 and July 2025.

These individuals were charged with hate speech and defamation in 710 criminal cases.

“In today’s state address, the President spoke about the need for correction, oversight, and criticism, and urged non-government parties not to stop criticizing. In reality, many people are still being criminalized simply for speaking critically,” said Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, in a press release on Friday, August 15, 2025.

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Israel has continued with its deadly airstrikes on Gaza City, amid preparations for a ground invasion to take over the city.

Strikes on the Zeitoun neighbourhood of the city killed at least two people this morning.

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces have focused attention on the Zeitoun neighbourhood over the last few days, destroying between 300 and 350 homes being destroyed.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 61,776 Palestinians and wounded a further 154,906 since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

As Israel ramps up its attacks on Gaza City, it continues its creeping annexation of the West Bank, with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office saying that 20 people were arrested in overnight raids across the occupied West Bank.

Earlier this week Israeli extremist finance minister announced the expansion of a settlement in the West Bank which he boasted would make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible.

International criticism against the expansion of the E1 settlement has continued, with Germany being the latest nation to condemn the plan.

Israeli far-right minister confronts prominent Palestinian inmate

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir published a video on Friday in which he confronts the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody in his prison cell.

Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian Fatah party, has spent more than 20 years behind bars after being sentenced for his role in anti-Israeli attacks in the early 2000s.

In the clip published by Ben Gvir on X, the minister and two other individuals, including a prison guard, surround Barghouti in a corner of his cell.

“You will not defeat us. Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women… we will erase them,” Ben Gvir says in Hebrew.

Barghouti tries to respond but is interrupted by Ben Gvir, who says: “No, you know this. And it’s been the case throughout history.”

The video does not specify where Barghouti is currently being held.

Contacted by AFP, sources close to Ben Gvir said the meeting took place “by chance” in Ganot prison in southern Israel during an inspection visit by the minister, but they would not say when the footage was filmed.

“This morning I read that various ‘senior officials’ in the Palestinian Authority didn’t quite like what I said to arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti – may his name be erased,” Ben Gvir said in the post accompanying the video on Friday morning.

“So I will repeat it again and again, without apology: whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women – we will wipe them out. With God’s help.”

Barghouti, who is now in his sixties, was arrested in 2002 by Israel and sentenced to life in 2004 on murder charges.

Israel considers him a “terrorist” and convicted him over his role in the second intifada, or uprising, from 2000-2005.

He often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes described by his supporters as the “Palestinian Mandela.”

In a statement released by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry denounced “an unprecedented provocation” and described the confrontation as “organized state terrorism.”

(Reuters) -The U.N. human rights office said on Friday an Israeli plan to build to build thousands of new homes between an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and near East Jerusalem was illegal under international law, and would put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which it described as a war crime.

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday vowed to press on a long-delayed settlement project, saying the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

The U.N. rights office spokesperson said the plan would break the West Bank into isolated enclaves and that it was “a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognised by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.

Most world powers say settlement expansion erodes the viability of a two-state solution by breaking up territory the Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state.

The two-state plan envisages a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, existing side by side with Israel, which captured all three territories in the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel cites historical and biblical ties to the area and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security and that the West Bank is “disputed” not “occupied”.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; writing by Ahmed Elimam; editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The humanitarian crisis and starvation in Gaza have become increasingly worrisome. Eight European countries on Sunday strongly condemned Israel’s plan to fully control Gaza City.

European leaders also vehemently rejected any efforts to change the demographics and territories that could exacerbate the conditions there.

“We strongly condemn the recent announcement by the Government of Israel of the intensification of the occupation and the military offensive, including in Gaza city,” said a joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain quoted from Anadolu.

“This decision will only deepen the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the remaining hostages’ lives,” the statement read.

Crisis Situation and Starvation in Gaza: Mounting Criticism Against Israel

The Israeli Cabinet on the previous Friday morning approved the occupation plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite widespread rejection. Foreign ministers highlighted that the plan could potentially cause a large number of casualties and forcibly displace nearly 1 million Palestinian civilians.

“We firmly reject any demographic or territorial changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the Foreign Ministers stated in a joint statement. They also added that Israel’s actions are considered a serious violation of international law and humanitarian principles.

The ministers also warned that a more intensive military attack and occupation of the city of Gaza would be a major impediment to achieving a two-state solution. They emphasized that Gaza must be an integral part of the State of Palestine, along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Recognition of the existence of Palestine and Israel is considered the best guarantee of security for both parties and key to regional stability as a whole.

In their statement, the ministers once again called for an immediate ceasefire and permanent cessation of hostilities. They also urged the immediate release of all hostages currently held by Hamas and the swift, unimpeded, and large-scale delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Criticism from European Countries, the European Union, and the UN

Strong rejection also came from the European Union and the United Nations (UN) against Israel’s plan to take over the city of Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his concern about Israel’s decision and stressed that Gaza must remain an integral part of the State of Palestine, as reported by China Daily.

UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay revealed that Israel’s decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks exacerbating the already dire consequences for millions of Palestinians. “(They) could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages,” Stephanie’s statement quoted from China Daily.

President of the European Council Antonio Costa said on Friday, through his X social media account, urging Israel to revoke the decision. He warned that the move could damage the EU’s relationship with Israel, which will be evaluated by the Council. He called on Israel to reconsider because the takeover of Gaza, expansion of settlements in the West Bank, extensive damage in Gaza, aid blockade, and widespread hunger violate international law and humanitarian values.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that Israel’s decision will not end the conflict or expedite the release of hostages. Instead, he called for increased humanitarian aid and renewed efforts for a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, France strongly condemned the plan for full military occupation of Gaza. The French government vehemently rejected the occupation or forced displacement, as it can violate international law, trigger political deadlock, and threaten regional stability without enhancing Israel’s security.

Several other EU countries such as Lithuania, Sweden, Austria, Portugal, and Slovenia also issued strong responses. Lithuania emphasized that the situation in Gaza will deteriorate and sought coordinated efforts with EU members. Sweden stressed that any attempt to annex Gaza violates international law. Austria expressed concerns about the fate of hostages and civilians, Portugal urged the postponement of the plan while pushing for the release of hostages and emergency assistance, and Slovenia condemned the actions and called for a permanent ceasefire.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed concerns about the worsening humanitarian conditions. He emphasized that Israel has a great responsibility to meet the needs of the people in Gaza, including fully opening access for aid from the UN and non-governmental organizations. As a concrete step, Germany halted the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza. Meanwhile, Italy sent 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Jordan, which will be airdropped into Gaza.

Editor’s Choice: Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” Vision Draws Flak from Arab States

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