Indonesia Considers Deploying Up to 8,000 Peacekeepers to Gaza
Indonesia is considering the deployment of between 5,000 and 8,000 troops to a proposed international peacekeeping mission in the Gaza Strip, according to the country’s Army Chief, Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak.
Speaking ahead of the inaugural meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, Simanjuntak said Jakarta has begun preliminary preparations, focusing on military engineers and medical personnel for a possible mission.
However, he stressed that no final decision has been taken on troop numbers or deployment. “Everything is still being negotiated and nothing is certain yet,” he said, adding that discussions are ongoing and no confirmed figures have been agreed.
The deployment, he explained, would depend on the outcome of negotiations surrounding the implementation of a Gaza peace plan, with decisions on timing, mandate and locations to be taken by higher authorities.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and a long-time supporter of Palestinian statehood, does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. Jakarta has consistently maintained that any troop deployment to Gaza would only occur as part of an internationally sanctioned peace mission and with the consent of all parties involved.
Under President Trump’s proposal, the Board of Peace is expected to establish an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to help maintain security in Gaza, though its structure, composition and mandate remain undefined. Several Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, have indicated readiness to contribute troops, while Germany has ruled out military involvement.
Israeli media outlet Kan reported that preparations are already underway in southern Gaza to accommodate thousands of Indonesian soldiers, with facilities reportedly being set up in an area between Rafah and Khan Younis.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is also expected to travel to Washington for the Board of Peace’s first meeting on February 19, according to media reports.
Significant uncertainty remains over the role of the proposed stabilisation force. Hamas has rejected provisions in the peace plan calling for its disarmament, while the plan also предусматривает further Israeli troop withdrawals and a gradual transfer of control in Gaza to the ISF. No concrete timetable has been agreed.
Meanwhile, the fragile ceasefire in Gaza has continued to face setbacks, with repeated deadly incidents reported in the devastated enclave.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Sugiono, recently warned that Jakarta could reconsider its participation in the Board of Peace if the initiative no longer aligns with Indonesia’s objectives on Palestine. He said Indonesia joined the process to advance Palestinian independence and remains committed to that goal.
“If it does not correspond with what we want first — peace in Gaza specifically, then peace in Palestine more broadly, and ultimately Palestinian independence and sovereignty — then that is the trajectory we want to achieve,” he said.
