Indonesia’s deployment in Gaza to contribute to global peace: Foreign Ministry spokesman

• Indonesia sees room to emerge as moral and strategic actor by Gaza deployment, says lawmaker

ISTANBUL

Indonesia’s pledge to deploy 20,000 personnel to the Gaza Strip will “contribute to global peace within the framework of the UN,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Anadolu.

Vahd Nabyl A. Mulachela, however, called for a “permanently implemented” ceasefire in Gaza, which will “serve as a first step to enable humanitarian access” after two years of genocidal war by Israel.

“First, we must have a permanently implemented ceasefire in Gaza, which will serve as a first step to enable humanitarian access and recovery, reconstruction, and ultimately the independence of Palestine based on the two-state solution,” said the spokesman.

Indonesia has been among the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping forces and “intends to continue this role,” he said.

The UN Security Council last month passed a US-drafted resolution authorizing an international stabilization force to oversee governance, reconstruction, and security efforts in the Gaza Strip.

Indonesia sees ‘room to emerge as moral and strategic actor’

Indonesian lawmaker Syahrul Aidi Maazat said President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to pledge troops for Gaza was “very significant.”

It demonstrates Indonesia’s “concrete commitment to carrying out its constitutional mandate to participate in maintaining world order based on lasting peace and social justice,” he said.

He said the step “is also consistent with Indonesia’s independent and active foreign policy and its identity as the largest Muslim country, which has consistently supported Palestine,” adding that Prabowo’s move “affirms Indonesia’s role as a country that takes action, not just condemns.”

Syahrul, who chairs the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee at the Indonesian parliament, said: “There is a need to enhance Indonesia’s position and leadership at the global level.”

“In the Palestinian issue, many countries have failed to stop the violence. Indonesia sees room to emerge as a moral and strategic actor. With its long experience in UN peacekeeping missions and strong domestic public support, Indonesia has the political, moral, and legal legitimacy to take a more proactive role,” he said.

He added that while “the majority of Indonesians fully support the defense of Palestine as a moral, humanitarian, and constitutional mandate,” there is public emphasis on ensuring that any deployment must have “a clear UN mandate, a purely humanitarian purpose, and full security procedures in accordance with UN peacekeeping standards.”

He called for exerting international pressure through the UN Security Council to encourage accountability for human rights violations and war crimes under the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

“Indonesia can lead diplomacy across the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, ASEAN, the African Union, and countries of the Global South by building momentum for a long-term political settlement,” he said.

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