Indonesia eyes up to 20,000 Gaza peacekeepers pending UN mandate

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attended a Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13 after accepting a late invitation, and indicated Jakarta stands ready to play a larger role in postconflict stabilization, officials said. State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the president accepted the invitation to maintain diplomatic ties and to support efforts to bring peace to Gaza. Prabowo has proposed the possible deployment of up to 20,000 Indonesian peacekeepers, contingent on progress at the summit and authorization by the United Nations Security Council, officials added.

The summit, convened in the Red Sea resort city and cochaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump, brought together leaders from more than 20 countries and was described by organizers as a follow-up to an earlier Gaza Peace Plan. After a meeting at Prabowo’s residence on the night before the summit, the Indonesian vice commander of the armed forces was directed to begin preparations should a formal mandate for deployment be agreed, Prasetyo said.

While in Sharm el-Sheikh, Prabowo was recorded on a live microphone asking President Trump if he could meet...