Jakarta. The Indonesian government denied Tuesday that they had engaged in talks with Hamas to host freed Palestinian prisoners.

An initial six-week ceasefire deal between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli forces officially came into effect on Jan. 19. This ended 15 months of heightened fighting in Gaza. 

The first phase of the ceasefire also includes the Israeli force’s release of approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.  Palestinian news agency Quds Press recently claimed that Hamas was lobbying several countries, including Indonesia, to host the detainees. Close neighbor Malaysia was among those who reportedly had agreed to receive them. Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Rolliansyah “Roy” Soemirat immediately dismissed reports of Indonesia ever in discussions with Hamas for such an arrangement.

“To date, there has not been any official contact through diplomatic channels between Indonesia and the party in question regarding that matter,” Roy said, avoiding referring to Hamas by name.

According to Roy, the Indonesian government only engages in talks officially with the Palestinian National Authority. 

Indonesia has been vocal about its undying support for Palestine. The country, however, has been subject to multiple rumors surrounding the ceasefire plan. Last month, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff floated a plan to temporarily relocate some of the 2 million Gaza residents to Indonesia during the post-war rebuilding process. Roy said at the time that they had never heard of such plans.

Reports of Hamas negotiating with Indonesia on the Palestinian prisoners coincided with the negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire deal. The deal is set to include three stages, which will eventually include plans for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. The final part of the agreement is expected to lead to the years-long reconstruction of Gaza.

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