The Scam Behind Indonesia’s Plan to Accommodate Gaza Refugees, from Tempo.co

Amerika Serikat, Armed Forces, Colonialism, Decolonization, Economics, Egypt, Ekonomi, Foreign Policy, Fried Rice, Gaza, HAM, Human Rights, Indonesia, International Law, Jordan, Palestine, Politics, Regional Indonesia, Turkey, United States

The Scam Behind Indonesia’s Plan to Accommodate Gaza Refugees, from Tempo.co

The Indonesian government’s plan to evacuate Gazans to Galang Island has drawn negative responses at home. Is it falling for a scam?

Editor

August 12, 2025

7–10 minutes

Amerika Serikat, Egypt, Gaza, Human Rights, Indonesia, International Law, international-affairs, Jordan, palestina, Palestine, Politics, United States

Israel’s Scam Behind Indonesia’s Plan to Accommodate Gaza Refugees, Tempo.co

By Eka Yudha Saputra, for Tempo.co, August 12, 2025

The buildings of Indonesia’s Special Infectious Diseases Hospital on Galang Island in the Riau Islands look deserted. The hospital complex is less crowded now than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Now the hospital is again attracting attention after the Indonesian government floated plans to treat 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza who have been injured in the war with Israel. Nurdin, a resident of Galang Island, has no problem with using the facility for the treatment of Gazans. “It’s no problem because we’re helping,” he said when approached by Tempo magazine on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Last week, Indonesia’s Presidential Palace announced Galang Island as an option for accommodating Gaza refugees. Head of the Presidential Communications Office, Hasan Nasbi, said Galang Island was chosen because it’s separated from residential areas.

“It has been a refugee camp, and a COVID-19 treatment center. So in terms of security and comfort, residents could be managed,” Hasan said during a press conference at his office in Central Jakarta on Thursday, August 7, 2025.

However, Hasan denied allegations that the evacuation was a relocation, emphasizing that it was a government measure to provide temporary medical treatment and humanitarian aid.

The idea of evacuating Gaza refugees resurfaced after the Israeli security cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take over Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on August 8, 2025. The decision was announced by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office after 10 hours of deliberation.

“Israeli Defense Forces will prepare to take control of Gaza City, while distributing humanitarian aid to civilians outside the war zone,” the Israeli government said, as quoted from its official website.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono explained the reasons for choosing Galang Island as a temporary treatment facility. He explained that Indonesia’s willingness to accommodate Gaza refugees was conveyed by President Prabowo Subianto during his state tour of Middle Eastern countries and Turkey on April 9, 2025.

During the visit, Sugiono said, President Prabowo told Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states that Indonesia was willing to treat victims injured in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“At the time, it was also conveyed that Indonesia was open to treating children, the elderly, and women who needed medical treatment, in Indonesia, provided all the parties agreed,” Sugiono said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday, August 7, 2025.

Foreign Minister Sugiono said that during their meeting with GCC heads of state, President Prabowo said Indonesia was willing to treat 1,000 children and victims of the Gaza war. The evacuation wold have to be approved by countries directly neighboring Palestine, such as Jordan and Egypt, and especially the Palestinian Authority itself.

“We also have to prepare the technical details. So if it can be implemented at some point in time we are prepared,” said Sugiono.

To realize the plan, the Indonesian government is preparing a location to accommodate Gaza refugees in Indonesia. One option that has emerged is Galang Island. “The island was previously used to treat COVID-19 patients. So the infrastructure is already there. We are also still considering other alternatives,” he said.

However, Sugiono said the plan is still not finalized, and a budget has not discussed yet.

President Prabowo’s statement on April 9, 2025, came several days after Israeli media reported that several countries were willing to accommodate Gazans.

The Times of Israel reported on April 5, 2025, that the Israeli government had contacted several countries to relocate Gazans. A senior Israeli official said Israel had discussed the permanent relocation of Gazans with United States President Donald Trump. He said that several countries were interested in relocating Gazans.

When asked to confirm the Israeli media report, Foreign Minister Sugiono said the discussions were not related to Indonesia. “That’s between Israel and the United States,” he said.

The Indonesian government’s plan drew mixed responses from various quarters. Indonesian House of Representative Commission I member Tubagus Hasanuddin (PDIP-West Java IX) warned the government to be wary of Israeli traps. According Hasanuddin, an evacuation would have to be carried out with the consent of the Palestinians themselves.

“I ask if their citizens want to seek treatment in Indonesia. They would certainly be asking where they’d be going after they had recovered? What about employment and social security?” Hasanuddin told Tempo on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Hasanuddin also said an evacuation process would also depend on Israeli permission because Gaza is currently still in a state of conflict and under Israeli military blockade. Moreover, Hasanuddin said, Israel would only grant access if Palestinians were not returned to Gaza.

Hasanuddin noted further that Israel and the United States have an interest in ensuring Palestinians leave their country. “If we want to accommodate them, we’ll help them, that’s fine, as long as they can return. If they’re not allowed to return, then we’re falling for a scam,” he said.

The Indonesian government’s plan also drew criticism from Smith Alhadar, a member of the Advisory Board of the Indonesian Society for Middle Eastern Studies (ISMES).

He expressed surprise at President Prabowo’s continued push to evacuate Gazans from their homeland. According to Smith, the idea is politically risky. Moreover, he said, the evacuation proposal had been rejected by the Arab League at its Cairo summit in Egypt on March 4, 2025.

The idea was rejected again by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at its summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 7, 2025. “Accommodating around 2,000 Palestinian refugees is highly politically motivated. The move could facilitate the agenda of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to empty Gaza of Palestinians,” Smith said when contacted by Tempo on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Smith also believes the evacuation idea coincides with Trump’s import tariff policy against Indonesia. So he suspects the Indonesian government’s plan to evacuate Gazans is a bargaining chip to negotiate a reduction in import tariffs for Indonesia.

“Galang Island is certainly capable of accommodating more Palestinians. But if we do that, we aren’t helping Palestine, we’re eliminating it,” he said. “And domestically, President Prabowo’s government would face strong resistance from the community.”

Meanwhile, the national head of Islamic community organization Muhammadiyah, Anwar Abbas, has repeatedly rejected the plan. He emphasized that Donald Trump has said he wants to deport Gazans en masse to other countries, including Indonesia.

“If Indonesia wants to bring injured Gazans to Indonesia for treatment, Netanyahu and Trump would certainly be very happy and delighted with the plan,” Anwar Abbas told Tempo on Monday, August 11, 2025.

The deputy head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said the evacuation plan would actually create new problems for Indonesia. “The best thing for Indonesia and the international community is to treat the sick and injured in Gaza itself, not transport them out of Gaza,” he said.

Dina Sulaeman, an international relations lecturer at Padjadjaran University in West Java province, said that not all humanitarian movements in international politics are good. She said the Indonesian government has to consider the geopolitical context and that Israel and the United States have shared interests.

Dina said the evacuation idea announced by President Prabowo in April 2025 actually threatened Indonesia’s image. Although Prabowo stated that an evacuation would have to be approved by Arab countries, Dina said it would be a success for the United States and Israel in carrying out their agenda.

“From the perspective of political framing, Israel and the United States had ‘successfully’ framed the idea that the countries with the largest Muslim populations have agreed to evacuate Gazans,” Dina said when contacted by Tempo on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Dina also said there was no guarantee Gazan refugees brought to Indonesia would be able to return to Gaza. She referred to Donald Trump’s statement when he announced his proposal to relocate millions of Gazans in February 2025.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the proposal to relocate Gazans did not include the return of Gazans to their land. Trump said Palestinians would not be allowed to return to their land under his proposal.

“At the time, Trump said he would evacuate Gazans in April. When asked if they could return, Trump had said, no,” Dina said. “Meanwhile, Israel does indeed want to occupy Gaza, and that has been explicitly stated in every statement they make.”

The evacuation of Gazans not only violates Palestinian sovereignty, but also violates international law. Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia, said that international humanitarian law prohibits the removal of local residents during times of war without their consent.

“The Palestinian people have to stay in Palestine, because the Palestinian issue is a land issue. The important thing for them is that their land cannot be taken by Israel,” Hikmahanto told Tempo on Monday, August 11, 2025.

According to Hikmahanto, the evacuation plan cannot simply be based on the approval of the Palestinian Authority. He said the Palestinian Authority rules the West Bank and is not recognized in Gaza. Furthermore, Turkey also rejected the evacuation proposal during President Prabowo’s visit.

This international law observer is confident the United States will certainly facilitate the evacuation of Gazans to Indonesia. “Even if they need treatment, it would be better in their own country, or in a neighboring country. We don’t want the people to see our government as following Israel’s wishes,” Hikmahanto said.

Eka Yudha Saputra is an alumnus of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia. He joined Tempo in 2018. A member of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, he covers legal issues, national politics, and international issues.

This post is based on https://www.tempo.co/politik/evakuasi-pengungsi-gaza-pulang-galang-2057787.

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