The news, originally reported by Israel's Ynet News, claimed that Indonesia was willing to establish diplomatic ties with Israel to gain approval for its membership to the intergovernmental organization.

The OECD requires unanimous approval from all 38 member states, including Israel, for the inclusion of new countries. However, Israel has expressed its opposition to Indonesia joining due to the absence of formal relations and Jakarta's past criticism of Israeli actions, particularly regarding the situation in Gaza.

According to the report, three months of negotiations had taken place between the governments of Indonesia and Israel. Foreign Minister Israel Katz oversaw the talks on the Israeli side. Katz highlighted Indonesia's criticism of Israel since the outbreak of conflict in Gaza, as well as Jakarta's support for South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in the enclave.

The report further stated that Indonesia agreed to a condition that it would need to establish diplomatic ties with Israel before a vote could take place to approve its membership to the OECD. However, Indonesia promptly denied the claims made in the report.

In response to the alleged agreement, Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, wrote in a letter to Katz, "I am pleased to announce the Council has officially agreed to the clear and explicit early conditions according to which Indonesia must establish diplomatic relations with all OECD member countries before any decision is made to admit it to the OECD." He added that any future decision to accept Indonesia into the organization would require unanimous agreement, including from Israel.

Foreign Minister Katz, in a letter sent on Wednesday, expressed his expectation for a positive change in Indonesia's policy toward Israel, leading to full diplomatic relations between the two nations.

It is important to note that although Indonesia officially does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, there has been a covert relationship between the countries in the past. Several Israeli prime ministers have visited Indonesia, and in 2018, the country began accepting tourist visa applications from Israelis.

Indonesia, like several other Muslim-majority nations, has maintained that it would only recognize Israel once an independent Palestinian state is established. Massive protests have been held in Indonesia since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza on October 7th.

In conclusion, while initial reports had claimed that Indonesia was seeking to normalize relations with Israel for its membership to the OECD, the Indonesian government has denied these claims. The path to establishing formal diplomatic relations between the two countries remains uncertain, but the speculation has brought attention to the complex dynamics in the region.