Indonesia prepares up to 8,000 soldiers in the first strong commitment of a peacekeeping force in Gaza

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has begun training a contingent of up to 8,000 soldiers it plans to send as part of an international peacekeeping force to Gaza, the first firm commitment to a crucial element of U.S. President Donald Trump’s post-war reconstruction plan.

He watches: Trump presents the “Peace Council” in Gaza at the Davos Forum

Indonesia has experience in peacekeeping operations as one of the top 10 contributors to UN missions, including in Lebanon, and has been heavily involved in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including funding a hospital.

But many Indonesians are skeptical of President Prabowo Subianto’s plans to join Washington’s proposed peace council and participate in the international security force with only vague details so far about how it will operate, and see it as simply subservient to Trump’s agenda while the two countries negotiate a trade deal.

Read more: Trump holds his first peace council meeting this month in Washington

“We have to be careful to make sure that our military personnel do not support the Israeli military forces,” said Muhammad Zulfikar Rahmat, a Middle East expert at the Jakarta Center for Economic and Legal Studies. “We have to be careful that our military forces are not fighting the wrong sides.”

The mandate of the Internal Security Forces remains unclear

All UN peacekeeping forces have clear and strict mandates, but since the Peace Council and ISF will operate outside the UN, many wonder how the forces will be used, and who will pay for them. The ceasefire agreement reached last year generally stipulates that Israeli security forces “will provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza” and “work with Israel and Egypt to help secure the border areas.”

Indonesia currently receives money from the United Nations for the troops it sends to serve as peacekeepers, but people fear it will have to foot the bill for troops sent to Gaza, as well as a potential $1 billion payment for a permanent place on the peace council, as outlined in the draft charter.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world and strongly supports the two-state solution in the Middle East. Officials have justified joining the peace council by saying that it is necessary to defend Palestinian interests from within, as Israel is included in the council but there is no Palestinian representation.

Read more: Trump’s peace council is dividing countries in Europe and the Middle East

“Indonesia sees the importance of engaging parties to the conflict as part of the process toward peace,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yvonne Muengkang said this week.

She said Indonesia would use its membership “to ensure that the entire process remains oriented towards the interests of Palestine and respects the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, as well as encouraging the achievement of a two-state solution.”

However, the Jakarta Post criticized this kind of thinking in an editorial, saying that “an independent Palestinian state, if it ever emerges, is likely to be decades away.”

“Indonesia will end up paying $1 billion long before any meaningful outcome is achieved,” Abdul Khaliq wrote. “If Indonesia ultimately withdraws out of frustration, it will have already expended enormous resources – financial, diplomatic and political – for nothing in return.”

Trump was considered to be violating the United Nations

The peace council was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future. But the US President has since said that he sees the Council as a mediator in global conflicts, going beyond the UN mandate.

He watches: Face to face with Ambassador Huckabee on what’s next for Gaza and the Middle East

Prabowo, a former army general who was keen to raise Indonesia’s profile on the world stage, quickly accepted Trump’s offer for a place on the peace council and made an initial pledge to send 20,000 Indonesian troops as peacekeepers during his speech to the UN General Assembly.

An online petition was started by a group of Muslim scholars and activists asking about joining a body that ostensibly works to promote peace, but whose proposed president for life would be Trump, citing his threats to seize Greenland, the takeover of then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and the US veto of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza last year.

Read more: A $1 billion contribution secures a permanent seat on Trump’s “peace council.”

“In our belief, peace will be difficult to achieve by a state or state leader who repeatedly uses his veto power to prevent peace itself from occurring,” says the petition calling on Indonesia to withdraw from the peace council and has received more than 9,000 signatures so far.

“The Bank of Palestine faces serious legitimacy problems, from a normative, structural and ethical standpoint.”

The Indonesian army is preparing its forces despite a lack of guidance

About 100 demonstrators against Indonesian intervention gathered outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Friday, carrying signs with slogans such as “Are you tired of peace?” And “Free Gaza.”

Earlier this week, Indonesian Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak said training had begun for peacekeepers, although Indonesia had not yet received any guidance on the types of personnel needed.

He added that Indonesia now intends to send between 5,000 and 8,000 soldiers.

Read more: The United Nations votes to end peacekeeping operations in Lebanon next year after nearly 5 decades

“We have begun training individuals who may later serve as peacekeepers,” he said. “This means engineering and medical units – the types that are deployed most often.”

Hassan Jouni, a Qatar-based analyst who was a former general in the Lebanese army, said that despite skepticism at home, the idea of ​​the Indonesians participating as peacekeepers in Gaza is seen in the region as a good idea. He said Indonesia is considered an “honest and acceptable mediator” by both sides in the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza.

He added, “Indonesia is a Muslim country… and its religious identity gives it great distinction in its security participation within peacekeeping forces in the Arab region.” At the same time, it does not pose a strategic threat to Israel.”

While there are no formal diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Israel, and Indonesia has been supportive of Palestinian rights, it has not taken a directly confrontational stance toward Israel like some other Muslim-majority powers such as Turkey and Iran.

Read more: The German Foreign Minister calls for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine during his visit to Indonesia

He said, “From this standpoint, the participation of Indonesian forces in southern Lebanon comes in a balanced and effective manner,” and the same thing is expected to happen in Gaza.

Many are looking for clarity regarding the inaugural peace council meeting next week in Washington, where other countries are expected to announce their own troop commitments.

Prabowo plans to attend in person, and is also expected to sign the new trade deal while he is there, and the Center for Economic and Legal Studies’ Rahmat said he did not think he would be swayed by public sentiment.

“I don’t think internal opposition will significantly change Indonesia’s decision to join the Bank of Japan,” he said.

Hike reported from Bangkok. Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this story.