Evacuation Of Gazans To Indonesia Is The Same As Supporting Israeli Colonialism In Palestine

Illustration of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip queuing for food due to a blockade of aid by Israel. (ANTARA/Anadolu/py)

JAKARTA Ahead of a visit to the Middle East and Africa, President Prabowo Subianto revealed his intention to evacuate around 1,000 victims of the conflict in Gaza to be treated in Indonesia.

"We are ready to evacuate those injured or traumatized, and orphans if they want to be evacuated to Indonesia, and we are ready to send planes to lift them," said President Prabowo at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, before leaving for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday (9/4/2025) early morning WIB.

Prabowo's idea of evacuating Gazans to Indonesia invites confusion among groups. This idea has also become a hot topic of conversation on social media. Not a few public figures questioned the idea.

Singer Nadin Amizah made an Instastory upload in response to Prabowo's statement. He signaled his rejection with Prabowo's idea of bringing Palestinians to the country.

Palestinians need evacuation or evacuation. They need independence, they need their land. We are moving in the wrong direction," wrote Nadin.

The idea of President Prabowo to receive support from members of Commission I of the DPR Sukamta. Politicians from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction even hope that the evacuation of injured victims and children of Gaza orphans can be carried out soon.

He argues that evacuating injured victims and orphans is different from the idea of US President Donald Trump to move Gazans. According to Sukamta, the international community, including Indonesia, needs to help Gazans who are victims of Israeli attacks.

"It is very important to immediately evacuate, especially the injured victims and also the orphans," he said.

Rumors about Indonesia will accommodate Gazans have started blowing since last January. At that time Israel and Hamas had just entered the first phase of the three phases of the peace process mediated by the United States.

At that moment, the US also began to formulate long-term solutions to the conflict, including rebuilding the Gaza Strip which was destroyed by war. That's when the idea emerged for Gazans to be relocated first because the area was deemed unsafe to live in during the development process.

Indonesia is touted as one of the countries considered to be the destination for relocation. However, after the news circulated, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the government had never received any information regarding the plan to relocate Gazans.

"Indonesia remains firm in its position: any attempt to move Gazans is unacceptable," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement at the time.

"Efforts to reduce Gaza's population will only maintain Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and are in line with a larger strategy aimed at expelling Palestinians from Gaza," the statement added.

Shortly thereafter, Trump made a proposal to relocate Gazans. But at that time he said the relocated residents could no longer return. This plan clearly led to criticism from many parties, therefore it is tantamount to expelling Gazans from their own lands.

That is why Prabowo's announcement to receive 1,000 Gazans in Indonesia resulted in a big question mark, even though the President and his staff said this was only temporary, namely until they recovered and the situation was safe and then returned to their area of origin.

Middle Eastern political observer and Islamic world Hasibullah Satrawi expressed their appreciation for President Prabowo's good intentions. From one side, this idea can be considered as a form of humanitarian solidarity.

However, he stressed, this step cannot only be based on good intentions. It takes a strategic study and a thorough understanding of the current geopolitical situation of Gaza.

"We must be vigilant so as not to be part of the forced relocation efforts Israel and its allies want," said Hasibullah.

He also reminded that since March 18, 2025 Israel has refused to continue the ceasefire. Instead, they are intensively attacking Gaza. As a result, more than 50,000 Palestinians have died and more than 115,000 have been injured. Among them are children. Clear unconditional evacuations, said Hasibullah, will only strengthen Israeli colonial missions in Gaza's territory.

"Without a real Palestinian ceasefire and independence commitment, this evacuation could be a red carpet for Palestinian enemies to vacate Gaza's territory," he stressed.

Smith Alhadar, an observer of the Middle East's geopolitical issue, said the same thing. Prabowo's plan is feared to spark protests, not only from within the country but also from the international world. According to Smith, the idea of accommodating Gazans in the midst of an Indonesian condition that is also not doing well could trigger massive demonstrations.

"This actually threatens his government. There could be a massive demonstration. He will make a blunder in the midst of public unrest," said Smith.

In addition, Smith also assessed that with this plan Prabowo had the potential to violate the Indonesian constitution. So far, Indonesia has opposed all forms of colonialism, including what Israel has done against Palestine. Meanwhile, this relocation plan has the potential to support Israel's colonialism.

"We have a constitution that clearly mandates that this occupation on earth must be abolished and independence is the right of all nations. Now, where is the constitution that we have held from the past?" said Smith.