Military chief stresses details still being negotiated; Indonesian official says international force to stabilize Gaza could total up to 20,000 soldiers

Indonesia is preparing for the potential deployment of 5,000 to 8,000 troops to Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the country’s army chief of staff, Maruli Simanjuntak, said Monday following a security meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.

Maruli stressed that details on the force and deployment location were still being negotiated with relevant parties, but that one brigade, probably between 5,000 and 8,000 troops, was being prepared to assist Trump’s Board of Peace, in remarks cited by national news agency Antara.

The world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia is among the countries with which the United States has discussed plans for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza.

Under Trump’s Gaza peace plan, the first stage of which was signed into force in October, the ISF is tasked with providing security in the Strip, while gradually phasing out the Israel Defense Forces, which currently remains in control of 53 percent of the enclave. Hamas, which still controls the rest of Gaza, is to disarm, though the group has so far shown no inclination to do so, which has made it difficult to find countries to volunteer for the ISF, which will be headed by US Central Command Special Operations Commander Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers.

Maruli said that initial preparations within the Indonesian army were already underway. The personnel are being prepared to function as peacekeeping forces, he added, and deployment would focus on engineering and medical units.

The proposed multinational peacekeeping force for Gaza could total about 20,000 troops, Prabowo’s spokesman said.

The spokesman said, however, that no deployment terms or areas of operation had been agreed upon.

Prabowo has been invited to Washington later this month for the first meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace. The Southeast Asian country last year committed to readying 20,000 troops for deployment for a Gaza peacekeeping force, but it has said it is awaiting more details about the force’s mandate before confirming deployment.

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