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Indonesia has become the first country to clearly commit troops towards the International Stabilization Force peacekeeping effort in Gaza.
More than 8,000 Indonesian soldiers will reportedly be deployed to Gaza’s border under the initiative led by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and mandated by the UN Security Council.
“The total number is approximately 20,000 (across countries) … it is not only Indonesia,” according to Indonesian presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi, speaking to local media.
“We are just preparing ourselves in case an agreement is reached and we have to send peacekeeping forces.
“We’re preparing engineers, health workers and other things like that.”
The International Stabilization Force mandate is moving forward to secure border areas of Gaza, ensure the strip is demilitarised and facilitate withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces.
The deployment date for the troops has not yet been confirmed; however, Indonesia has previously accepted an invitation to the Board of Peace.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, speaking to Sky News on 8 February, has not yet confirmed whether Australia would join the initiative.
“We obviously have said, you know, repeatedly that what the Trump administration have done in terms of seeking to broker peace in the Middle East is something that we very much support,” he said.
“And we want to work with the US administration in relation to the peace arrangements in respect of the Middle East.
“We need to see an end to the really the human catastrophe that is being played out there. In terms of broader, kind of global architecture, I mean they’re matters that we’re obviously considering.
“We have seen the US, I think, play a really important role in brokering peace in the Middle East. That is something that we have supported and we obviously will continue to work with the US and other parties about how we can contribute to that peace in the Middle East.”
