Government delays deployment of peacekeeping forces to Gaza

Jakarta — The Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, stated that the government has postponed the deployment of 8,000 military personnel scheduled to undertake a peacekeeping mission with the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza.

“Everything is on hold. On hold,” Prasetyo said following a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Defence office on Tuesday.

Prasetyo cited various considerations for the postponement, including the escalating conflict situation in the Middle East.

When asked until when the postponement would remain in effect, Prasetyo could not provide a definitive timeline.

“Well, until a deadline that has not yet been determined,” he stated.

Earlier, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin had assured that the TNI would deploy personnel in stages to join the International ISF in the Gaza peacekeeping mission.

“Yes, in stages because the numbers are substantial,” Sjafrie said during a press conference at the Ministry of Defence office on Thursday (12 March).

According to Sjafrie, the TNI had initially prepared 20,000 military personnel to join the ISF. However, based on various considerations, the TNI ultimately reduced this to 8,000 personnel.

“It turned out that other countries were only sending several hundred. So we were ready with 8,000. But the most important thing is that if the situation does not conflict with our national interests, we proceed with the mission,” Sjafrie explained.

As of now, Sjafrie could not confirm when TNI personnel would be sent to Gaza.

His office is awaiting guidance from the Board of Peace (BoP) and the de-escalation of the geopolitical situation.

While awaiting the deployment timeline, Sjafrie ensured that the TNI would continue preparing the personnel to be ready for dispatch at any time.

“Our readiness is also part of operational alert status. It is typical for the military to have disaster alert status, tactical alert status, and strategic alert status,” Sjafrie explained.