Indonesia should reconsider its involvement in US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan because it is being shaped by Israel and the United States and lacks a Palestinian voice, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories told Reuters in Jakarta on Thursday. Francesca Albanese said Indonesia — the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, a key troop contributor to the plan and a state that has historically supported the Palestinian cause — was taking a dangerous step by joining Trump's Board of Peace. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry responded the same day that Board of Peace discussions remained on hold, reiterating its earlier position.
What did Albanese say in Jakarta?
That the board's design, not Indonesia's intentions, is the problem. "I understand (Indonesia's) good intentions. I still think that it's very dangerous, because it risks to normalise a very abnormal mechanism," she said. Indonesia risked compromising its close ties with Palestinians: "It's very risky to do so when the rules are set by Israel," she said. Albanese, a prominent human rights lawyer known for her vocal criticism of Israel, added that, legally, Israel could not have a role in determining the future of Palestinians. She recommended Jakarta instead join the Hague Group of countries, which includes South Africa and Indonesia's neighbour Malaysia and seeks to uphold international law and processes, including in the International Criminal Court over Israel's actions. Albanese has drawn the ire of a number of Western capitals: the United States has imposed sanctions on her, and others, including her own native Italy, have called for her resignation.
Where does Indonesia stand?
Formally committed, practically paused. Indonesia backs a two-state solution and has repeatedly condemned Israeli violence, and it has drawn criticism from domestic Muslim groups for agreeing to join the board, which also counts Israel as a member. President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to quit if it does not bring benefits to Palestinians, his office has previously said, adding that joining the board would allow Indonesia to push for cessation of violence. The Foreign Ministry's Thursday line — that Board of Peace discussions remained on hold — was a reiteration of its earlier position, not a new decision, and the ministry did not announce a withdrawal in the reporting opened for this article. What gives Jakarta's choice its weight is the role it signed up for: Indonesia is a key troop-contributing member of the board and has pledged troops to be deployed to Gaza as part of an international stabilisation force. As the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, its participation was presented as lending the plan credibility in the Muslim world — which is precisely the credibility Albanese warned it would spend.
What is the Board of Peace, and why is it contested?
The Board of Peace, of which Indonesia is a key troop-contributing member, was unveiled by Trump in January to address global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations. Indonesia has also pledged troops to be deployed to Gaza as part of an international stabilisation force. The board is meant to supervise the temporary governance of a Palestinian territory — yet rights experts have criticised it for not including a Palestinian representative. The Board of Peace did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside US business hours, Reuters reported. The objection Albanese voiced in Jakarta is therefore a structural one that predates her visit: a body that will supervise how Palestinians are governed, designed by Washington, with Israel at the table and no Palestinian seat.
Why does the warning land now?
Because the plan the board belongs to has stalled on the ground it was meant to govern. Trump's Gaza plan has faltered since a 2025 ceasefire secured the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees: efforts to disarm Hamas and secure an Israeli withdrawal have failed to advance, while Israeli forces continue near-daily attacks in Gaza — attacks that have kept killing Palestinians a year into a ceasefire that exists, as more than 100 humanitarian organisations put it this month, only on paper. A UN commission and international and Israeli rights groups have concluded that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza; Israel's government has denied the accusations. It is into that gap — between a governance plan drafted abroad and a territory still under fire — that Albanese directed her warning: that lending Indonesian troops and legitimacy to the board, on these terms, would normalise it.
This report is drawn from Reuters' October 22 report from Jakarta, opened and read in full on reuters.com. Albanese's assessments are published as her on-record statements to Reuters; Indonesia's position is published as its Foreign Ministry stated it and as President Prabowo's office had previously stated it; the board's non-response is noted as Reuters reported it.
