Jakarta: The Indonesian Military (TNI) is prepared to send peacekeeping troops to the war-torn Gaza if requested by the United Nations, a spokesman said on Monday.
The statement followed President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s remarks during a seminar in Singapore, where he stated that Indonesia is willing to contribute more to restoring peace in Gaza, which is currently under Israel’s relentless military campaign to root out the militant group Hamas.
“The TNI is ready to carry out a peacekeeping mission under the UN flag if the country calls us for duty,” TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar said.
Nugraha noted that active participation in international efforts to maintain world order is mandated by the 1945 Constitution, whose preamble requires the nation to “contribute to the implementation of a world order based on freedom, lasting peace, and social justice.”
Indonesia has regularly deployed its peacekeeping forces to UN missions in conflict areas in the Middle East and Africa.
Speaking at a seminar hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore on Saturday, Prabowo said Indonesia wants to contribute to a potential UN peacekeeping mission in Gaza, Palestine.
He also mentioned that Indonesia is on standby to send medical workers to makeshift hospitals in Gaza, with permission from major international organizations and other parties.
“Indonesia is more than willing to evacuate and treat injured Palestinians at our hospitals,” Prabowo told the forum.
The former army general, who will be inaugurated as president on October 20, also said Indonesia shares the view of many countries around the globe that the only viable way to create lasting peace for both Israel and Palestine is through a two-state solution.
