Retired Indonesian Military Officers Urge Prabowo to Cancel Plan to Send Troops to Gaza

The Forum of Retired Indonesian Military Officers (FPP TNI) has requested President Prabowo Subianto to cancel the plan to send 8,000 troops to Gaza, Palestine. The FPP believes that Indonesia’s involvement in the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), initiated by US President Donald Trump, would violate the constitution.

General (ret.) Fachrul Razi explained that Indonesia’s involvement in international peacekeeping forces has always been subject to a mandate from the United Nations (UN), and not from any other organisation.

“Especially since this is through the Board of Peace, led by an American general. This truly offends our Palestinian friends,” said Fachrul after the FPP meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, 26 February 2026.

Furthermore, the deployment of troops on such a large scale should also be coordinated, consulted, and approved by the House of Representatives (DPR). The FPP believes that the lack of a thorough planning process with the DPR, and the decision being made solely by the President, indicates that the TNI’s involvement in the ISF is not a national agenda, but rather Prabowo’s personal agenda.

“According to the constitution, strategic decisions must receive approval from the DPR and all relevant parties,” said Fachrul.

The former Minister of Religious Affairs continued, stating that Prabowo’s claim that Indonesia will not be involved in armed operations, coupled with Indonesia’s strategic role as Deputy Commander of the ISF, is not enough to guarantee that the ISF operation will not oppress Palestinians as promised by the United States.

In the military, Fachrul said, the positions of deputy commander and commander are a package. When the commander, who is from the United States, decides to carry out a disarmament operation, it is impossible for the deputy commander, who is from Indonesia, to refuse. “The commander and deputy commander are one unit within the organisation. It is impossible for the commander and deputy commander to have different decisions,” he said.

Today, a number of retired TNI officers who are members of the FPP TNI held a meeting at the LAFKESPRI office in Tebet, South Jakarta. The forum specifically formulated the position of the retired officers on a number of decisions made by Prabowo in the Board of Peace. The results of this meeting are planned to be conveyed to Prabowo through an open letter in the near future.