Indonesia readies peacekeeping troops for Gaza amid UN mandate uncertainty
As the proposed international stabilisation force struggles to attract Muslim contributors, Indonesia says it will deploy units, pending a consensus on the mission’s scope and a formal peace agreement.
Indonesia is moving ahead with preparations for a deployment of peacekeeping troops to Gaza, the Defence Ministry and military confirmed on Thursday, though a final decision on its involvement would “depend heavily” on an agreed operational mandate for its troops.
Military spokesman Major General Freddy Ardianzah told The Australian no date had yet been set for any deployment, but the military had now “entered the internal planning phase” for its potential involvement in a peacekeeping mission in the war-ravaged strip.
“The number of personnel to be deployed is still under discussion and will be determined based on mission requirements and the operational mandate,” he said.
“The TNI has prepared projected force components, including medical teams, engineering units and a support battalion responsible for logistics, transportation, communications, public affairs and humanitarian assistance.”
A final configuration of personnel would be determined “according to government policy directives and developments at the international level”.
“In principle, the TNI (Indonesian military) is ready to carry out any government decision professionally and proportionally, while upholding peace principles and Indonesia’s national interests in accordance with national and international legal frameworks,” General Ardianzah said.
President Prabowo Subianto has previously said he would be prepared to send as many as 20,000 Indonesian troops to Gaza to help secure the peace, notwithstanding public concerns that involvement in the plan could serve Israel’s interests more than those of the Palestinian people.
Public support for the Palestinian cause, and a two-state solution, is almost universal in Indonesia, a former colonial state that has never formally recognised the state of Israel and whose constitution commits it to opposing all forms of colonialism.
Indonesia is one of only two countries, along with Azerbaijan, to have indicated a willingness to contribute to a proposed international stabilisation force, intended to eventually replace Israeli forces in Gaza, under US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the region.
Turkey has also volunteered to contribute to the ISF, though Israel has objected to its involvement.
The ISF is a key element of the second phase of the plan, along with the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the contentious issue of Hamas’s disarmament – the latest proposal for which involves storing its weapons for the duration of a prolonged truce.
Many Muslim countries remain reluctant to get involved, however, for fear they could end up facing off against the fellow Muslims of Hamas, and that the peace process could end up falling well short of Palestinian statehood.
In remarks that will do nothing to assuage that fear, US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told Israeli TV on Thursday (AEDT) that Washington expected the ISF to fulfil its mandate by engaging in the disarmament process.
“The stabilisation force in the Security Council resolution is authorised to (disarm Hamas). We specifically put language in there that said ‘by all means necessary’. That’ll be a conversation with each country,” Mr Waltz told Channel 12 TV, adding the conversation on the “rules of engagement” for the ISF are continuing.
This week, The Times of Israel reported that Azerbaijan now also appeared to be wavering over contributing to the ISF.
It cited a senior government official as saying any assumptions about its participation were premature while the expectations of its forces on the ground remained unclear.
“Azerbaijan has not made its decision on whether we will join or not,” the official said during a briefing to The Times of Israel and other media outlets on the sidelines of the Doha Forum last weekend.
As a member of the Organisation of Islamic States, which prioritises the plight of Palestinians, Azerbaijan could not be seen to be contributing to an initiative that did not advance their cause, he added.
Indonesian officials, too, have consistently indicated their involvement would be conditional on all conflicting parties – Israel, Palestine, Hamas and potentially also Hezbollah – signing off on a Status of Forces Agreement.
“The decision to send troops rests entirely with the state’s political leadership and depends heavily on the operational mandate that will be issued as well as the mechanisms established by the United Nations,” General Ardianzah said.
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