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’
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.
Earlier this month, shortly after Prabowo signed on to the Board of Peace, representatives from some 40 civil society and religious groups in Indonesia met the president to discuss the Gaza mission, Indonesia’s state news agency Antara reported at the time.
Prabowo told the groups he was prepared to withdraw from the Board of Peace if it “fails to advance the goal of an independent Palestine”, Antara reported, citing Muhammad Cholil Nafis, vice chairman of Indonesia’s top Islamic advisory body.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also emphasised that the country’s troops will be in Gaza “solely to support Palestine’s recovery and its fight for independence and sovereignty”. In addition to deploying troops to Gaza, Indonesia will also focus on humanitarian assistance and send several hospital ships.
‘It’s about maintaining optics’
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, director of the Indonesia-MENA desk at the Centre for Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta, told Al Jazeera that he believes Prabowo has been trying to get Trump’s attention.
The US president has a track record of responding to assertive and transactional leadership, and once said he gets along better with world leaders “the tougher and meaner they are”. Courting China and Russia was one step towards Prabowo getting US attention, while signing on to the Board of Peace and deploying Indonesian troops to Gaza was another, Rakhmat said.
In the mix of motivations for joining the board, Prabowo may also have been hoping for a better trade deal with the US after Trump unleashed trade tariffs last year. The White House initially planned to levy a “reciprocal” tariff of 32 percent on Indonesian exports, which was later cut down to 19 percent.
The Indonesian president late last week signed a formal trade deal with Trump on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, DC. The deal kept tariff rates at 19 percent, while Indonesia agreed to cut tariffs on 99 percent of its US imports. It is still unclear how the deal will be impacted by a landmark ruling on Friday from the US Supreme Court striking down the legal basis for many of Trump’s tariffs.
Rakhmat fears Prabowo’s ambition makes it less likely that he will push back if something goes wrong in the Gaza operation and Palestinians are negatively impacted. He told Al Jazeera that Prabowo will likely “condemn” any operational drift in the Gaza plan, rather than withdraw completely from the Board of Peace.
“People will expect more, but looking at his past behaviours, it is unlikely he will do something extraordinary,” Rakhmat said. The Indonesian president “wants to have a good image among major powers. It’s about maintaining optics”, he said.
