Defence Minister says Indonesian Armed Forces mission in Gaza is still awaiting President Trump's orders
Defence Minister General (ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the Indonesian Armed Forces’ mission in the Board of Peace (BoP) is currently awaiting directives from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has not yet decided whether to initiate the mission and its operations in Gaza, Palestine. Sjafrie revealed that, as a consequence of the fallout from the United States–Israel relations with Iran, the BoP mission has not yet been officially launched, i.e., left behind. According to Sjafrie, several BoP members, including Indonesia, are still awaiting a decision from Trump and the U.S. as initiator.
“The current dynamics arise from the continuing high intensity of conflict between America and Iran, which means the BoP tends to be left behind,” he said at a working meeting of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR), on Tuesday (19/5).
“Even though, in Indonesia, the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces has prepared composite brigades for geostrategy and geopolitics, and the initiative from the U.S. President has yet to receive any implementation guidance, the ISF remains on standby for now,” he added.
In his briefing, Sjafrie explained that from the outset the BoP was a U.S. initiative to dampen escalation in Gaza arising from the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. This conflict has claimed more than 80,000 lives.
“And this is the approach the U.S. President is taking to carry out humanitarian and political responses in Gaza,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sjafrie noted that although Indonesia’s decision to join the BoP has recently earned praise from Trump, the government conditions that Hamas’s existence be safeguarded. Those conditions have been approved by several other BoP members, such as Qatar, the UAE, and Egypt.
Recently, Sjafrie continued, the U.S. has also formed the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) as the BoP’s military proxy in Gaza. However, from the outset the ISF has been tasked with ensuring that there are no more civilian casualties.
“Do not allow activities of a physical nature that could cause civilian casualties among the people of Gaza,” he said.