Indonesia Steps Into the Line of Fire in Postwar Gaza
Indonesia has vaulted from the diplomatic sidelines into the eye of Gaza’s postwar storm, and Waseem Abu Mahadi shows how that leap could make or break both Jakarta’s ambitions and Gaza’s fragile future. After the UN Security Council blessed a US-crafted plan backed by President Donald Trump, Indonesia emerged as the preferred Muslim-majority partner to help anchor an International Stabilization Force and sit at the table of the new “Peace Board” run by the American president.
President Prabowo Subianto has ordered up to 20,000 Indonesian troops to prepare for a possible Gaza mission, training in medical and construction roles. Yet Abu Mahadi details a yawning gap between Prabowo’s soaring rhetoric and Indonesia’s planning: few war games, scant public debate, and no clear answers on what happens if soldiers are drawn into a shooting war with Hamas and rival Palestinian armed groups while coordinating with Israel and US intelligence.
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Domestic politics add another layer of risk. Indonesian leaders champion Palestine, reject normalization with Israel, and face a public that sees the conflict almost entirely through Palestinian suffering—from visa bans on Israeli athletes to constitutional language branding colonialism a moral crime. That gives Jakarta credibility on the Arab street, but any move seen as serving Israeli or American interests could turn those crowds against Indonesia’s own troops.
Abu Mahadi’s full piece walks readers through the maze of competing demands: Israel’s insistence on US-led command, Palestinian fears of “international guardianship,” Arab governments’ refusal to send troops, and Indonesia’s hope to deploy not only soldiers but also its vast Muslim civil society network. Whether Indonesia becomes Gaza’s bridge or its next casualty is the unresolved, hard, fateful question running through Waseem Abu Mahadi’s reporting.
