JAKARTA: A pledge to recognise Israel if the Jewish state does the same for Palestinian statehood, an offer to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza, and a high-profile attendance at a Trump-led peace summit.
These recent moves involving Indonesia have cast a spotlight on its stance towards Israel and the Palestine issue, with observers noting a subtle shift under President Prabowo Subianto’s charge.
In particular, they point to his pledge at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Sep 23 to recognise Israel, if the latter recognised Palestinian statehood, as an unprecedented move.
He also said the world must “recognise and guarantee the safety and security of Israel”, striking a tone markedly different from his predecessors, who have long prioritised Palestinians’ right to self-determination over Israel’s security concerns.
Observers note that these remarks reflect a pragmatic tone of late to the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“No Indonesian leader has promised to recognise Israel if Israel recognises a Palestinian state,” said Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at Singapore-based think tank ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and efforts to change this are often met with harsh public backlash across the political spectrum. Indonesia recognised the state of Palestine in 1988.
The seemingly softer approach, coupled with Prabowo’s offer made in the same UNGA speech to send 20,000 peacekeeping troops to Gaza, is a way to show leaders of the world that Indonesia is a force to be reckoned with, some experts said.
“(Prabowo) wants to show (the world) that Indonesia matters, that we are a big nation and we can offer workable solutions and results,” said Yohanes Sulaiman, an associate professor in international relations at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani.
These and other moves by Prabowo have been noticed.
On Oct 13, Prabowo became the only Southeast Asian leader invited to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, where leaders of the United States, Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt signed a declaration aimed at cementing a ceasefire in Gaza. At the peace summit, US President Donald Trump praised Prabowo as “a very incredible man from Indonesia”.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-prabowo-subianto-softer-tone-israel-palestinians-diplomatic-ties-5437466
