JAKARTA - Former Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal asked the government to suspend plans to deploy thousands of TNI soldiers in the Security Stabilization Force or International Stabilization Force (ISF) mission to Gaza, Palestine. The request was made following the escalation of an open war between Israel and the United States against Iran which was considered potentially expanding the conflict in the Middle East.
According to Dino, the current security situation in the region is much more complex and risky, including for the plan to deploy international forces in Gaza, which is still in a state of ceasefire with Hamas.
"I advocate that President Prabowo Subianto write a letter to President Donald Trump to inform him that Indonesia will suspend the dispatch of peacekeepers for the ISF in Gaza, while reviewing the serious situation that is now developing in the Middle East," said Dino, Sunday, March 1.
He assessed that the joint military attack by the US and Israel against Tehran could potentially trigger long-term security complications that would directly impact any peace scenario in Gaza. In the mission structure, Trump is said to lead the Board of Peace (BoP), while Israel is one of its members. BoP forms the ISF as a joint force that will be deployed to Gaza outside the control of the United Nations (UN).
The United States is said to be the main commander of the ISF, while Indonesia is willing to join as a member of the BoP and is invited as the deputy commander of the ISF. President Prabowo previously expressed his readiness to deploy around 8,000 TNI personnel to join the 20,000 ISF troops from a number of other countries.
Dino reminded that Hamas and a number of Palestinian militant factions have close ties with Iran. With this condition, he is worried that Indonesian troops risk being trapped in the wider dynamics of the conflict, especially if they are under the command of the United States.
"Hamas and other groups in Palestine have a special closeness with Iran. It will definitely have an impact. Moreover, the Indonesian troops will practically be under the command of the United States and under the control of Donald Trump as chairman of the Board of Peace," he said.
According to Dino, the step of suspension through an official letter to the US President will also show Indonesia's attitude as a principled country and not easily pressured in global geopolitical calculations.
He emphasized that President Prabowo needs to consider diplomatic maneuvers to avoid the risk of Indonesia's involvement in the still developing American-Israeli-Iranian triangle conflict.
"We must avoid the risk of Indonesian troops being trapped in complications that may arise in Gaza from this conflict," said Dino.
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