The government has decided to prepare 20,000 men for a possible operation, says Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, according to the Antara news agency, among others. He says that this involves a large number of medical and engineering forces that can assist in large-scale humanitarian work.
But Indonesia has not given a timeframe for when the forces will be in place. First, a plan and a mandate need to be established at the UN level, Sjamsoeddin adds.
Part of the plan
As part of the US-brokered peace plan between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, the Gaza Strip is supposed to be taken under the control of an international peacekeeping force for a transitional period. But how this will take shape is still unclear and the US government is currently seeking a mandate on the UN Security Council while discussions are underway with several countries.
In addition to Indonesia, the discussions have involved many primarily Muslim countries: among them Azerbaijan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar. Jordan's King Abdullah is visiting Indonesia this weekend and will discuss the matter with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
European police assistance?
The EU is reportedly considering contributing by training Palestinian police for a future Gaza, Reuters reports. According to a document seen by the news agency, member states will discuss the proposal at next week's meeting of foreign ministers.
The proposal from the EU External Action Service is for the Union to take the lead in training a Palestinian police force in Gaza. This will be done by providing “direct training and support to around 3,000 Palestinian police officers” employed by the Palestinian Authority – with the aim of eventually training a full Palestinian police force of 13,000 men.
