Indonesia says it’s preparing to send up to 8,000 troops to support Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Indonesia says it plans to send up to 8,000 troops to support an international peacekeeping force in Gaza under the U.S.-backed peace plan.

Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak, chief of staff of the Indonesian army, announced Tuesday that his country is preparing to deploy 5,000 to 8,000 troops to the International Stabilization Force outlined in the second phase of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

The announcement makes Indonesia the first country to offer a specific troop commitment to the peace plan. If the plan is implemented, it would mark the first time an outside military force has maintained a presence in the territory since 1967.

Gen. Maruli added that “there’s no certainty on the number” of troops deployed and that the mission is still in the planning phase.

But Israeli public radio confirmed Tuesday that Indonesian troops would be a part of the upcoming peacekeeping force and that a site between Rafah and Khan Younis has been chosen for a barracks for the troops.

The International Stabilization Force is an integral yet controversial component of Mr. Trump’s Gaza plan. Comprising 20,000 Arab and European troops, the force is expected to maintain peace in Gaza and oversee its reconstruction. The force will also serve under Mr. Trump’s recently established Board of Peace.

The exact makeup of the peacekeeping force is unclear, with U.S. regional partners Egypt, Qatar and Turkey being named as countries that would likely contribute.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have expressed skepticism over allowing Arab forces to enter Gaza and have ruled out the presence of Turkish forces.

The U.S. may be open to Mr. Netanyahu’s demands on the composition of the peacekeeping force. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last year said the force would only be made up of troops from countries that Israel is “comfortable” with.

Indonesia, under President Prabowo Subianto, has emerged as one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Mr. Trump’s peace efforts in the Middle East. Mr. Prabowo has agreed to join Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace and is expected to attend the first official meeting next week.

Mr. Prabowo had also initially offered to commit 20,000 troops to the International Stabilization Force when it was first announced in September.

The Indonesian troops would be entering a sensitive and continuously tense situation in post-war Gaza.

Israel and Hamas, the terror organization that governs Gaza, have maintained a fragile ceasefire for just over four months, but deadly clashes have consistently threatened to upend the situation. At least 500 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began in October.