Indonesia will join the Board of Peace and will send troops to Gaza. It's a risky move politically — Indonesia has no official relations with Israel — but President Prabowo Subianto says he has good reasons.
Analysis & Context
Indonesia will join the Board of Peace and will send troops to Gaza. It's a risky move politically — Indonesia has no official relations with Israel — but President Prabowo Subianto says he has good reasons. This article provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of current events.
Indonesia will join the Board of Peace and will send troops to Gaza. It's a risky move politically — Indonesia has no official relations with Israel — but President Prabowo Subianto says he has good reasons.
PoliticsPalestinian TerritoriesWhy is Indonesia sending thousands of troops into Gaza?Mohamed Farhan02/19/2026February 19, 2026Indonesia will join the Board of Peace and will send troops to Gaza. It's a risky move politically — Indonesia has no official relations with Israel — but President Prabowo Subianto says he has good reasons. https://p.dw.com/p/593MOIndonesia says its forces won't have authority to disarm any group in Gaza and won't engage in combatImage: Claudio Pramana/ZUMA/picture allianceAdvertisementJust a few days before the president of Indonesia was supposed to go to Washington for the first meeting of the so-called "Board of Peace," a council created and chaired by US President Donald Trump, the spokesperson for the Indonesian military made a controversial announcement. Army spokesperson Donny Pramono said Indonesia was ready to deploy as many as 1,000 soldiers to Gaza by April, and could increase that to 8,000 by the end of June this year. The Trump administration had previously said that several countries had promised to send troops to be part of a so-called stabilization force in Gaza. The force and the Board of Peace project are both part of a US-supported peace plan for Gaza that the United Nations Security Council approved last November. The Indonesian announcement made it the first country in the world to go public with an offer to send troops. If it goes ahead, the deployment would also be one of the largest contributions to a peacekeeping force in the world. The deployment still has to get final approval from Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. "The departure schedule remains entirely subject to the political decisions of the state and applicable international mechanisms," Pramono told news agency Reuters.Is the Board of Peace Trump’s private UN?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A risky move? The Indonesian announcement is controversial for a number of reasons. The Indonesian public hasn't been completely positive about the idea, Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of international law at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, points out. "At the grassroots level, there is suspicion that the Board of Peace serves as an extension of Netanyahu’s plan through President Donald Trump," Juwana explained. Recently around 100 locals protested outside the US embassy in Jakarta, saying that the Board of Peace was only there to do the bidding of the Israeli and US governments. There are also concerns that this offer may somehow be part of a trade deal. The Indonesian foreign ministry says Prabowo is expected to sign a trade agreement with the US during his visit to Washington. Critics have suggested the Trump administration might impose higher tariffs on the country if Indonesia is uncooperative, Juwana noted. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) is going to be in Washington to attend the first meeting of the 'Board of Peace' on February 19, 2026Image: Suzanne Plunkett/empics/picture alliance Indonesia's Gaza gamble But there are also positives to the Indonesian announcement, observers say. Indonesia has long supported the idea of Palestinian statehood and, because it's so far away from the Middle East, it could be seen as more of a neutral party. "Indonesia is distant [from Gaza] but it is acceptable to all parties, including Israel. And so far, Israel has remained silent regarding these Indonesian statements," says Mohamad Kawas, a journalist based in the UK and regular commentator on politics for Arabic-language television. The same could not be said of proposals for Turkey to participate in a peacekeeping force in Gaza, Kawas noted. Over 80% of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed and US President Donald Trump is to announce a multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild Gaza during the 'Board of Peace' meeting, American officials saidImage: Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu/picture alliance "Israel does not accept Turkey's presence in Gaza, despite Ankara's recognition of Israel, its relations with it, and its NATO membership," he told DW Arabic. "Israel might accept Indonesia though — even though Indonesia doesn't recognize Israel, doesn't have any relations with it and it also supports the Palestinian cause." Indonesia is also the world's most populous Muslim country, Kawas added. "And Trump wants his plan to have broad Islamic support, so this may be another justification." And as Foreign Policy magazine pointed out earlier this month, "Indonesia has experience deploying troops on such missions, including in the Middle East. Its first deployment was to Egypt in 1956 following the Suez crisis, and some 1,000 Indonesian troops are currently stationed on the Israel-Lebanon border." Indonesian president explains his plan Australian media reports say that, around a fortnight ago, President Prabowo held a meeting with former ministers and senior diplomats during which
