Moshe Phillips is national chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI, www.AFSI.org), a leading pro-Israel advocacy and education organization.
How can a nation that refuses to recognize Israel be trusted to have heavily armed soldiers in Gaza? This is the question that Israelis should be asking their politicians. Kan News has reported that Indonesian soldiers will arrive in Gaza within weeks. On paper, this might look like a contribution to regional stability. But for Israel, allowing Indonesian soldiers -even troops Indonesia claims have been trained to be peacekeepers-to deploy in Gaza would be a tremendous strategic mistake.
Indonesia does not recognize Israel, has never had diplomatic relations with Israel, and has consistently voted against Israel at the United Nations. The proposed deployment is not in the best interest of either the United States or Israel. Israeli leaders still have time to prevent this.
The government of Indonesia has publicly reaffirmed that it does not have an official relationship with Israel, and this position has remained unchanged for decades. Despite rare and unofficial contacts, Jakarta maintains a foreign-policy posture rooted in rejecting Israel’s legitimacy. Indonesia has no embassy in Israel. This lack of diplomatic relations is not some small thing-it is a deliberate Indonesian policy that signals serious national opposition to Israel’s very existence.
Indonesia has consistently voted against Israel at the UN, often enthusiastically. Jakarta routinely supports resolutions condemning Israel for what it describes as an “unlawful occupation" of Palestinian territory. Indonesian officials publicly welcome UN resolutions calling for a full Israeli withdrawal and regularly state that Israel has no legitimate sovereignty in Palestinian Arab-populated areas. Indonesia already has a history of also condemned Israeli Knesset votes, reinforcing its long-standing pattern of hostility. These are not the votes or statements of a neutral nation capable of acting as an even-handed peacekeeping presence; they are the actions of a state that aligns diplomatically against Israel over and over again.
This all really matters when discussing the possible deployment of Indonesian troops into Gaza. Embedding soldiers from a country that refuses to recognize Israel, has no diplomatic ties with Israel, and consistently backs resolutions targeting Israel’s legitimacy introduces serious risks. Peacekeepers must be trusted by all sides if they are to function effectively. Given Indonesia’s history, Israel cannot reasonably be expected to view these troops as neutral actors and Israel's leaders have the opportunity now to say just that and they should.
In October 2024, dramatic testimony revealed that Hezbollah terrorists captured by the IDF confirmed that they had paid members of UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) to use their outposts and surveillance cameras along the border with Israel. What assurances are there that troops from a nation like Indonesia, when its citizens know full well that their government opposes Israel, would not similarly collaborate with Hamas. Who will make sure that Indonesia's soldiers don't sell weapons or ammunition to Hamas or Islamic Jihad? Not for ideological reasons but just to make money.
There is also the practical question of what message the United States would send by supporting such a deployment. America consistently works to protect Israel’s security. Allowing troops from a nation that has taken every opportunity at the UN to oppose Israel would create an unnecessary contradiction in U.S. policy. It would legitimize Indonesia’s behavior: aggressive anti-Israel diplomacy paired with a sudden interest in placing thousands of soldiers in a territory vital to Israel’s security. Washington should be wary of giving political cover to states whose UN voting records consistently undermine U.S. and Israeli interests.
Some could argue that Indonesia, as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, could bring credibility or balance to peacekeeping in Gaza. But Indonesia itself has made clear that even its hypothetical willingness to recognize Israel is conditional-based not on diplomacy or mutual respect, but on Israel first recognizing an independent Palestinian state that doesn't even exist. That is not neutrality; it is political blackmail.
Allowing troops from such a country into Gaza could lead to confusion, conflicting mandates, and serious security complications. Peacekeepers need to coordinate closely with Israeli defense forces in any post-conflict scenario. The introduction of a politically motivated military contingent would risk undermining Israel’s security and could embolden groups that oppose Israel’s right to defend itself.
Indonesia’s longstanding refusal to recognize Israel, its lack of diplomatic relations, and its record of consistently voting against Israel at the UN make it the wrong country to provide troops in Gaza. For the security of Israel, for the strategic interests of the United States, and for the prospects of a Gaza free of Hamas, the Indonesian army soldiers must stay home in Indonesia.