Prabowo States Indonesia Will Withdraw from Board of Peace if Not Beneficial to RI and Palestine

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, stated that Indonesia will withdraw from the Board of Peace (BoP) or Peace Council, formed by United States President Donald Trump, if it does not benefit national interests. He emphasised that Indonesia will not hesitate to leave the BoP if its decisions do not align with Indonesia’s or Palestine’s interests. “As long as we are in the BoP, we will strive to help the Palestinian people’s struggle. But if we conclude there is no hope and it is counterproductive, we assess that we are wasting time, energy, and it does not benefit the national interests of the Indonesian nation, we will exit,” Prabowo said in a statement from the Government Communication Agency (Bakom) on Thursday (19/3/2026). Prabowo also explained the origins of Indonesia’s involvement in the BoP. He claimed that Indonesia joined only after thorough consideration, with the aim of supporting full Palestinian independence. Indonesia’s involvement in the formation of the BoP began on 23 September 2025, when Prabowo delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly in the US. A few hours later, Prabowo, along with seven leaders of majority-Muslim countries in the Group of Eight—such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, and Egypt—was invited by Donald Trump to a meeting. In that meeting, Trump asked the Group of Eight to support the 21-point plan, a proposal for creating sustainable peace in Gaza. According to Prabowo, the details of those points were read out one by one by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The points explain that Palestine will be given a path to become an independent nation capable of determining its own future. Additionally, there is a point that the US will facilitate dialogue between Israel and Palestine so they can live side by side in peace. The content of the proposal is deemed to align with Indonesia’s view on the Palestinian issue, that long-term peace can be achieved through a two-state solution.