YOGYAKARTA - Indonesia is ready to send up to 8,000 personnel to join the International Stabilization Forces (ISF) in Gaza, Palestine. The commitment was conveyed by President Prabowo Subianto when attending the inaugural Summit of the Board of Peace in Washington D.C., United States, Thursday, February 19.
"We reaffirm our commitment to send a significant number of troops up to 8,000 or more if necessary. We are ready to actively take part in the International Stabilization Force to ensure that this peace plan succeeds," said Prabowo.
During the forum, it was also announced that Indonesia was trusted to hold the position of Deputy Commander of the ISF. Indonesia is one of five countries that have expressed their readiness to join the ISF in Gaza. The other four countries are Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania.
What is ISF?ISF is a multinational force that is formed to be deployed to Gaza to stabilize the security situation after the war. Its main goal is to create a conducive environment for the peace plan to run effectively and sustainably.
As reported by Al Jazeera, the ISF will help train local police, secure the border, support the demilitarization process in Gaza, and protect civilians. The force is also tasked with securing humanitarian corridors to ensure the distribution of aid takes place safely and without hindrance.
In practice, the ISF will take over most of the security responsibilities that have been under Hamas control for nearly two decades.
The commander of the ISF Gaza, Major General Jasper Jeffers, explained at the summit forum that the main mandate of this force is to stabilize the security environment while paving the way for a new civilian government. The government will be formed according to the draft of the National Committee for Gaza Administration (NCAG).
Jeffers also revealed that over the past few months, a team of US military experts has been on the ground to prepare the ISF infrastructure. They operate from a joint operations center that will later become the headquarters of the troops.
"Over the past few months, we have had a team on the ground consisting of US military experts preparing the infrastructure for the ISF," he said.
Operationally, ISF will divide the Gaza Strip into five sectors. Each sector will be placed in one brigade to ensure optimal surveillance and stability.
In the initial phase, the Rafah sector will be the priority for deploying troops, along with the start of local police training. The long-term target is to form 12,000 new police and deploy up to 20,000 ISF personnel.
"In the short term, we plan to first deploy forces to the Rafah sector, along with police training. The medium-term goal is to continue to expand the presence of the sector sector by sector, until we reach our long-term target, which is 12,000 police and 20,000 ISF soldiers," explained Jeffers.
In addition to security functions, ISF will also be involved in the demilitarization process or disarmament. At the same time, this force is tasked with training Palestinian police officers who are designed to be independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Hopefully, this new security structure can become the foundation for long-term stability.
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