Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has reassured local Islamic groups that he will withdraw from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace if the platform does not benefit Palestinians, a government statement said Friday.

Indonesia’s participation, and its decision to contribute troops for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, have drawn criticism from experts and Muslim groups at home, who say it compromises the country’s long-standing support for the Palestinian cause.

Prabowo gathered the groups’ leaders for a meeting on Thursday evening, where he reiterated his reasoning behind joining the board, according to a statement released by the government communication office.

Prabowo will withdraw from the board if it does not benefit Palestinian and Indonesian interests, the statement quoted Hanif Alatas of the Islamic Brotherhood Front as saying.

“The president said that if he sees that there is no longer any benefit for Palestine… and that it is not in line with Indonesia’s national interests, he will withdraw,” Hanif said in the statement.

The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, had previously called for Indonesia to exit the board due to the US role in the ongoing Iran war.

Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Muslim group, said Indonesia’s government could use the board to encourage de-escalation in the Middle East.

“Indonesia could declare that the [board’s] agenda is on hold until there are talks on de-escalation and peace from the American-Israeli war against Iran,” its chief Yahya Cholil Staquf said in a statement issued by Prabowo’s office late Thursday.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono previously said all Board of Peace discussions were on hold due to the war with Iran, where the US and Israel on Saturday launched a bombing campaign, which the Islamic Republic has responded to with missile and drone strikes across the region.

The outbreak of the war followed a massive US military buildup in the Middle East and Trump’s repeated threats to strike Iran, first over its bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters in January and more recently over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Israeli and US officials have said the war could last weeks and aims to enable regime change in Iran.

Under Trump’s Gaza peace plan, the Board of Peace is supposed to provide backing for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a gathering of independent Palestinian technocrats, to rebuild the Strip, which has been devastated in the war sparked by the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Representatives of the Board of Peace member nations last convened in Washington on February 19, when the US secured some $7 billion in pledges toward Gaza’s recovery from key Mideast allies; agreement from five countries, including Indonesia, to contribute troops to the ISF; and plans to replace Gaza’s Hamas-run police with a new Palestinian police force within two months.

Besides the US and Israel, Indonesia sits on the Board of Peace alongside Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Numerous close US allies, including Spain, France and Germany have opted not to join the Board of Peace, citing concern that it could undermine the United Nations.

Of the 28 Board of Peace member states, Egypt and Jordan agreed to train the new Palestinian police force, while Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have agreed to contribute troops for the ISF, which is is tasked with phasing the IDF out of Gaza. Indonesia has said it was ready to deploy 8,000 troops in June, making it the largest contributor.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and has long been a strong supporter of a two-state solution, which would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel.

It has also long been involved in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, including funding a hospital, and has participated, in coordination with Israel, in airdropping aid packages into the Strip amid the halts Israel imposed on land-based delivery since Hamas’s October 7 attack.

Indonesia’s decision to join the Board of Peace came as Subianto has sought to strengthen ties with the Trump administration, and made tentative calls for warmer relations with Israel, including in a speech last year at the UN General Assembly, where he struck an unexpectedly sympathetic tone toward the Jewish state and signed off with the Hebrew word for peace, “shalom.”

At home, Indonesian officials have justified joining the Board of Peace by saying it was necessary to defend Palestinian interests from within, since Israel is included on the board but there is no Palestinian representation.

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