NextFin News - In a high-stakes diplomatic maneuver that has sent ripples through Southeast Asia, U.S. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have formally proposed the deployment of Indonesian military personnel as a primary component of a post-conflict peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip. The proposal, discussed during high-level bilateral meetings in Washington and Jerusalem this February 2026, seeks to leverage Indonesia’s status as the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation to provide a veneer of religious and political legitimacy to the security transition in the Palestinian enclave. However, the plan has met with profound skepticism in Jakarta, where officials and defense analysts fear the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) are being invited into a strategic trap designed to shift the burden of urban counter-insurgency from Israeli and American shoulders to those of a third party.
According to News18, the core of the concern lies in the tactical reality of the Gaza Strip, where remnants of Hamas and other militant factions continue to operate within a vast network of subterranean tunnels. The U.S.-Israeli plan envisions Indonesian troops managing the day-to-day security of the civilian population and overseeing the distribution of humanitarian aid. Yet, military experts suggest that such a role would inevitably force Indonesian soldiers into direct kinetic confrontations with local resistance groups. For Jakarta, the prospect of its soldiers dying in the ruins of Gaza—not in defense of a sovereign Palestinian state, but as administrators of a security regime approved by Israel—represents a catastrophic political risk for the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.
The analytical complexity of this deployment is rooted in Indonesia’s long-standing constitutional mandate to support Palestinian independence. Historically, Indonesia has refused to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel, making the sudden proposal for a joint security framework highly irregular. From a strategic perspective, the Trump administration appears to be employing a "burden-sharing" doctrine, attempting to outsource the stabilization of the Middle East to regional powers and influential Muslim states. By involving Indonesia, the U.S. aims to neutralize the narrative of a "Western occupation" of Gaza. However, data from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests that public sentiment remains overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian; a 2025 survey indicated that over 85% of Indonesians oppose any military cooperation that could be perceived as benefiting Israeli security objectives.
Furthermore, the professional risks to the TNI are substantial. Unlike traditional UN peacekeeping missions (UNIFIL) where Indonesia has a distinguished record, the proposed Gaza force lacks a clear United Nations Security Council mandate and a defined "exit strategy." According to the South China Morning Post, the absence of a two-state solution framework makes the mission a "high-stakes gamble." If Indonesian troops are forced to use lethal force against Palestinian civilians or militants to maintain order, the backlash in Jakarta could destabilize the domestic political landscape, providing ammunition for hardline religious factions to challenge the government’s legitimacy.
Looking forward, the trend suggests that Indonesia will likely demand significant concessions before committing even a single battalion. These would include a formal timeline for Palestinian statehood, a full withdrawal of Israeli Defense Forces from the enclave, and a mission structure strictly under the UN blue helmet banner rather than a U.S.-led coalition. Unless these conditions are met, the U.S.-Israeli plan is likely to remain a theoretical exercise in geopolitical maneuvering. The coming months will be a litmus test for Indonesia’s "Free and Active" foreign policy, as it navigates the pressure of being a global mediator without becoming a proxy in a conflict that has no easy resolution.
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