JAKARTA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled a planned visit to Indonesia just hours after the trip was announced by a Foreign Ministry spokesman here on Friday.

    "The visit was canceled because of (the Palestinian) domestic situation," Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said.

    "In the planned visit, He (Abbas) will certainly be received by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and they will surely discuss the latest development (in Middle East), including the peace process," said Percaya.

    Abbas also had intended to discuss plans to hold a national referendum on establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel and brief his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on broader peace initiatives, Percaya added.

    Palestinian authorities, who have suffered from financial crisis after Western countries quit their aids to pressure the country to soften its stance on Israel, tried to find out other source of assistance, especially from the Muslim countries.

    Indonesia is the world most populous Muslim country. About 87 percent of its 240 million population is Muslim. Enditem