Solidarity with Palestinians questioned as Indonesian troops set for Gaza

President Prabowo Subianto is trying to expand Indonesia’s global standing, but questions raised about role of military in Gaza peace plan.Indonesian UN peacekeepers attend a ceremony to mark the 47th anniversary of UNIFIL Establishment Day, at its headquarters in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura in 2025 [File: Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo]Published On 27 Feb 2026Indonesia 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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4North Korea’s Kim Jong Un pledges to lift living standards at rare congresslist 2 of 4US pays about $160m towards nearly $4bn in UN dueslist 3 of 4Major road crash leaves 18 dead, 3 injured in northeast Egyptlist 4 of 4Indonesia, Morocco, Kosovo among 5 countries to send troops under Gaza planend of listBut 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.Indonesian protesters hold up posters during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on October 12, 2025 [Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo]‘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.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.But observers told Al Jazeera that Prabowo’s decision to join the Board of Peace reflected more his “personalised” style of leadership and his desire to be seen as a global player than a direct concern with the question of Palestine.“We participated with peacekeepers in Lebanon and [the Democratic Republic of the] Congo, but now the new president wants to make Indonesia diplomatically stronger on the global level,” said Yon Machmudi, an expert in Indonesian politics and international relations, also at the University of Indonesia.“This is also part of the motivation of the president to be involved in any kind of negotiations with the peace process,” he said.“I think Prabowo truly wants to leave a significant legacy, remembered as a president active in global peace, not only in the Middle East but also in other regions, such as the Russia-Ukraine war,” Machmudi said.Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, centre, attends the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace with other world leaders in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026 [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]‘It’s about maintaining optics’Prabowo, a former military general once banned from entering the US, has found himself in the global spotlight since being elected president in 2024, starting with his decision to visit China on his first international trip.He has since visited Russia twice, skipping a Group of Seven meeting in June to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.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.