JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Prabowo Subianto has moved to calm growing domestic criticism over Indonesia’s role in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, telling Muslim leaders he will pull the country out if the initiative stops serving Palestinian interests, March 6, 2026.
The warning sharpens the political stakes around Jakarta’s participation in a forum that was presented as a vehicle for Gaza stabilization and reconstruction, but that has increasingly become a source of pressure for Prabowo at home. According to Reuters reporting on Friday, Prabowo told local Islamic leaders that Indonesia would leave the board if it no longer benefited Palestine or matched Indonesia’s national interests.
The comment came only days after Indonesia publicly signaled a pause. Foreign Minister Sugiono said talks related to the board had been halted because of the Iran war, a sign that wider regional tensions are now shaping how Jakarta calculates the diplomatic cost of staying involved. In an earlier update, Reuters reported that discussions were put on hold as criticism mounted from Islamic organizations and political voices questioning whether Indonesia could credibly stay inside a U.S.-backed structure while the region was sliding deeper into conflict.
Why the Indonesia Board of Peace is under pressure
The pressure is not only about timing. It is also about structure. The Board of Peace itself has drawn scrutiny because it was designed as a temporary body to help oversee Gaza’s transition and reconstruction, yet critics have objected to the absence of Palestinian representation and to concerns that it could sideline traditional U.N. channels.
At the same time, the board has been tied to ambitious promises that remain politically fraught. During its first formal session in Washington, Trump said countries had pledged billions for reconstruction and described plans for an international stabilization force in Gaza. As Reuters reported from that inaugural meeting, the forum included Israel but no Palestinian representatives, while major questions over Hamas disarmament, Israeli troop withdrawals and the practical delivery of aid remained unresolved.
Indonesia has been central to those plans. Before this week’s warning from Prabowo, Jakarta had already been preparing for a substantial role on the ground. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Indonesia was readying 1,000 troops for possible deployment in Gaza by early April, with as many as 8,000 expected to be prepared by June if political approval was secured.
That military commitment helped make Indonesia one of the board’s most important Muslim-majority members, but it also increased the risk for Prabowo. Backing a reconstruction and stabilization mission can be framed as a way to protect Palestinians. Yet if the board comes to be seen in Indonesia as failing Palestinians, or as legitimizing a process in which Palestinians lack real agency, the domestic backlash is likely to intensify.
Indonesia Board of Peace scrutiny did not start this week
The current balancing act fits Prabowo’s broader line on the conflict. In May 2025, he said Indonesia would be willing to establish diplomatic ties with Israel if an independent Palestinian state were recognized, according to an earlier Reuters report. That position suggested he was open to pragmatic diplomacy, but only if it clearly advanced Palestinian statehood.
It also follows his effort to show Indonesia as an active humanitarian actor. Last year, Prabowo said Indonesia was ready to receive wounded and orphaned Palestinians from Gaza on a temporary basis, according to Associated Press reporting from April 2025. Taken together, those earlier moves help explain why he is now drawing a red line: Indonesia can justify engagement, but not at the expense of its longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.
For now, Prabowo appears to be trying to preserve room to maneuver. He has not abandoned the board outright, but he has made clear that Indonesia’s membership is conditional. That stance may ease some immediate pressure at home. Whether it holds will depend on a simple test that is becoming harder to avoid: can the Board of Peace show tangible gains for Palestinians, or will Indonesia decide the political price of staying is too high?
