Solidarity with Palestinians questioned as Indonesian troops set for Gaza
Indonesia is preparing to send 1,000 soldiers to Gaza within weeks, the first contingent of some 8,000 personnel that Jakarta has pledged to deploy to the Palestinian territory as part of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) under United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
Indonesian army spokesperson Brigadier General Donny Pramono told news media the first troops are preparing to reach the enclave by April, and the majority will be on the ground in Gaza by June.
But as the hasty deployment approaches, some Indonesians are questioning what role their armed forces will play in the mission amid Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.
Indonesia is a seasoned participant in United Nations-led peacekeeping missions, but critics fear that without oversight by the UN, Indonesian forces could be used as “pawns” by the US – Israel’s foremost ally – to control Palestinians in Gaza and formalise the occupation of the enclave.
“We are afraid that Indonesia will be used as the buffer to control the Palestinians,” Shofwan Al Banna Choiruzzad, an associate professor at the University of Indonesia, told Al Jazeera.
“Indonesia has built a reputation in Palestine as one of the most active partners on the ground. It would be very painful for both Palestinians and Indonesians if they see the Indonesian army becoming an instrument of the occupation,” Shofwan said.
“The worry is that Indonesia will only be a shock absorber,” he said.
“Indonesia will only be an actor which is used to establish legitimacy [for Israel’s occupation], and worse.”
Complicating matters further is the fact that Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel owing to its long support for the Palestinian cause.
“Indonesia needs to make clear that it will not be in the sectors which risk confrontation with Palestinian factions, [and] it will also not be in the Israeli-controlled areas – because that will require operational coordination with the Israeli army, which means practical recognition of Israel,” Shofwan said.
‘Palestinians are seen as objects’
Indonesia – with the world’s largest Muslim population – was the first among members of the Board of Peace to commit a specific number of soldiers to the ISF.
Jakarta’s pledge of peacekeepers was then followed by Kosovo, Morocco, Albania, and Kazakhstan, although they have not said their troops’ strength in the enclave.
Officials in Jakarta have stressed the country will play a “balancing” role on the Board of Peace alongside other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
But, as a longstanding supporter of a two-state solution and an independent Palestine, observers worry that Indonesia’s stance will be compromised by its involvement in the Gaza operation.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto could also soon face difficult questions about the work of the Board of Peace and its plans for the reconstruction of Gaza and the future of the territory’s Palestinian population, analysts say.
University of Indonesia’s Shofwan said the Board of Peace and its approach to Gaza is fundamentally “colonial”.
“It is designed to achieve negative peace without putting the rights and voices of Palestinians at the centre, and Palestinians are seen as objects,” he said.
“They are seen to be something that needs to be controlled. There are no restraints towards Israel at all, so the design is very colonial,” Shofwan added.
The board’s executive committee comprises Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East; Marc Rowen, CEO of Apollo Global Management; World Bank President Ajay Banga; former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair; and Robert Gabriel Jr, US deputy national security adviser.
Palestinian participation in the board has been siloed into a “transitional committee” of apolitical technocrats led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister.
