General Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), Yahya\nCholil Staquf, views the deaths of three TNI soldiers participating in\nthe peacekeeping mission in Lebanon as a risk inherent to Indonesia\u2019s\ninvolvement in such operations. This statement responds to proposals\nfrom various parties urging the government to withdraw Indonesian troops\nfrom the Lebanon region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that is indeed part of the risk that must be recognised\nfrom the outset when we join peacekeeping forces like that. Wherever it\nhappens, soldiers are prepared for it,\u201d said Yahya when met at the PBNU\noffice in Jakarta on Friday, 11 March 2026.<\/p>\n
Yahya stated that PBNU does not take a position supporting or\nopposing the proposal to withdraw soldiers from the conflict zone\nbetween Lebanon and Israel. He believes President Prabowo Subianto, as\nhead of state and former soldier, knows the best decision to make.<\/p>\n
According to Yahya, the situation in the war zone is highly complex.\nEvery decision must not be based solely on emotions or subjective\ndesires. Additionally, Yahya emphasised that the constitution mandates\nIndonesia\u2019s involvement in maintaining world order.<\/p>\n
\u201cThus, we do not have the luxury of making decisions merely to\nindulge subjective emotions because we must seek a way out of the\nconflict,\u201d said Yahya.<\/p>\n
When asked for comment on the lack of explicit condemnation from\nPrabowo against Israel, which caused the TNI soldiers\u2019 deaths, Yahya\nurged the public not to localise the war to one side alone. He also\nasked the public not to view the war from one perspective only, whether\nfrom Israel\u2019s or Lebanon\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
He then likened the way some Indonesians view the escalation of the\nwar between Israel and Lebanon to watching a football match. \u201cWatching\nfootball, if one side scores, we cheer, but if the team we support\nconcedes, we curse and so on,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we must not view war like\nwatching football,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Three Indonesian soldiers died in a series of battles between Israel\nand Lebanon at the end of March. The UN\u2019s initial investigation found\nthat the death of TNI soldier Farizal Rhomadon was caused by Israeli\ntank fire in Lebanon on 29 March 2026.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the deaths of the two other TNI soldiers, Zulmi Aditya\nIskandar and Muhammad Nur Ichwan, in Lebanon were caused by an\nimprovised explosive device suspected to have been planted by\nHezbollah.<\/p>\n
In addition to those three soldiers, eight TNI personnel involved in\nthe peacekeeping mission were injured due to a series of attacks between\nIsrael and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
On that basis, former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)\nassessed that the situation in the deployment area for peacekeeping\nforces is no longer safe. He stated that the area in Lebanon occupied by\nTNI soldiers, which was originally a blue zone and not a combat area,\nhas now turned into a war zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this argument, the UN in New York should immediately take firm\ndecisions and steps to stop the UNIFIL assignment or relocate their\npositions away from the still-burning battlefield,\u201d Yudhoyono said via\nhis X account, @SBYudhoyono<\/span>, on Sunday, 5 April\n2026.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pbnu-chairman-on-the-death-of-three-tni-soldiers-in-lebanon-the-risk-of-involvement-in-missions-1775818314", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }