Indonesia is preparing to send 1,000 soldiers to Gaza in the coming weeks, the first of about 8,000 personnel that Jakarta has pledged to send to the Palestinian territory as part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) under President Donald Trump’s peace committee.
Indonesian military spokesman Brigadier General Donny Pramono told reporters that the first troops were preparing to reach the enclave by April, with the majority expected to be in Gaza by June.
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But as the impending deployment approaches, some Indonesians are questioning what role their military will play in the mission amid Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinian territory.
Indonesia is an experienced participant in U.N.-led peacekeeping missions, but critics fear that without U.N. oversight, Indonesian forces could be used as a “pawn” by the United States, Israel’s biggest ally, to overrun Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and formalize its occupation of the enclave.
“We are concerned that Indonesia will be used as a buffer to control the Palestinians,” Shofwan Al Banna Choirzad, 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 extremely painful for both the Palestinians and the Indonesians to see the Indonesian military become an instrument of occupation,” Shofwan said.
“The worry is that Indonesia will only become a shock absorber,” he said.
“Indonesia is just an actor that will be used to establish the legitimacy[of the Israeli occupation]and it will only get worse.”
Further complicating matters is the fact that Indonesia has long supported the Palestinian cause and does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
“Indonesia needs to make it clear that it will not enter areas where there is a risk of conflict with Palestinian factions, nor will it enter Israeli-controlled territory, because that would require operational coordination with the Israeli military and would mean de facto recognition of Israel,” Shofwan said.
“Palestinians are seen as objects”
Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, was the first member of the peace committee to send a specific number of soldiers to the ISF.
Jakarta’s peacekeeper pledge was later followed by Kosovo, Morocco, Albania and Kazakhstan, but did not mention the strength of their troops in the enclave.
Jakarta officials stressed that the country would play a “balancing” role on the peace commission alongside other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
But Indonesian officials, who have long supported a two-state solution and Palestinian independence, fear that involvement in the Gaza operation could undermine Indonesia’s position.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto may also soon face difficult questions about the work of his peace committee, plans to rebuild Gaza and the future of Palestinians in the area, analysts say.
Professor Shofwan of the University of Indonesia said the peace commission and its approach to Gaza was fundamentally “colonial”.
“The aim is to achieve a negative peace without centering Palestinian rights and voices, and Palestinians are seen as objects,” he said.
“They are seen as something that needs to be controlled. There are no restrictions on Israel at all, so the design is very colonial,” Shofwan added.
The board’s executive committee is made up of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State. Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East. Mark Loewen, CEO of Apollo Global Management. World Bank President Ajay Banga. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Robert Gabriel Jr., Vice President for National Security;
Palestinian participation on the council is siloed into an apolitical technocratic “transition committee” led by former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister Ali Shas.
Immediately after Prabowo signed the peace commission earlier this month, representatives of about 40 Indonesian civil society and religious groups met with 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 Peace Council “if it fails to advance the goal of Palestinian independence,” Antara news agency reported, citing Muhammad Cholil Nafis, vice-chairman of Indonesia’s Supreme Islamic Advisory Body.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stressed that its troops are stationed in Gaza “solely to support Palestine’s reconstruction and fight for independence and sovereignty.”
In addition to sending troops to Gaza, Indonesia is also focusing on humanitarian aid and plans to send several hospital ships.
But observers told Al Jazeera that Prabowo’s decision to join the peace council reflected his “personalized” leadership style and desire to be seen as a global player, rather than a direct interest in the Palestinian issue.
“We participated in peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and Congo (Democratic Republic of the Democratic Republic), and now the new president wants to make Indonesia diplomatically strong on a global level,” said Yong Makmudi, an expert on Indonesian politics and international relations, also from the University of Indonesia.
“This is also part of the president’s motivation to participate in all negotiations of the peace process,” he said.
“I think Mr. Prabowo really wants to leave behind an important legacy that will be remembered as a president who was active in world peace, not only in the Middle East, but also in other regions, such as the Russia-Ukraine war,” Makhmudi said.
“Optical system maintenance”
Prabowo, a former military general who was previously banned from entering the United States, has attracted global attention after his decision to visit China on his first overseas trip since being elected president in 2024.
Since then, he has visited Russia twice, skipping the Group of Seven meeting in June to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Muhammad Zulfikar Rachmat, director of the Indonesia and MENA desk at the Economic Law Research Center in Jakarta, told Al Jazeera he believed Prabowo was trying to get President Trump’s attention.
The US president has a track record of responding to aggressive and transactional leadership, once saying he gets along better with world leaders “the tougher and meaner they are”.
Courting China and Russia was one step for Prabowo to attract the attention of the United States, but signing the peace commission and sending Indonesian troops to Gaza were another step, Rachmat said.
Mr. Prabowo’s motivations for joining the board vary, but Prabowo may have wanted a better trade deal with the United States after President Trump imposed trade tariffs last year. The White House initially planned to impose a 32% “reciprocal” tariff on Indonesian exports, but that was later lowered to 19%.
The Indonesian President signed a formal trade agreement with President Trump late last week on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Peace Commission in Washington, DC. Under the agreement, tariffs will remain at 19%, while Indonesia has agreed to reduce tariffs on 99% of its U.S. imports. It remains unclear how the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on Friday, which struck down many of the legal basis for President Trump’s tariffs, will affect the agreement.
Rakhmat worries that Prabowo’s ambitions could make him less likely to push back if something goes wrong with the Gaza operation and negatively affects Palestinians.
He told Al Jazeera that Prabowo is likely to “denounce” operational deviations in the Gaza plan, rather than withdrawing from the peace committee altogether.
“People will expect more, but looking at his past actions, it is unlikely that he will do anything special,” Rachmat said.
The Indonesian president “wants to have a good image among the big powers. It’s about maintaining optics,” he said.
