Jakarta. Indonesia intends to send the 8,000 Gaza-bound troops in phases, as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country works on the technical details, including appointing a deputy commander to the multinational force.

Indonesia has been gearing up to contribute some of its militarymen to the International Stabilization Force (ISF). Albania, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo have also pledged to put their boots on the ground to back the initiative that aims to oversee the Gaza ceasefire. President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to send 8,000 troops, but is also willing to raise that number “if necessary”.

Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang admitted to reporters that it would be impossible to deploy a contingent of such size in one go.

“Our troops’ deployment will take place in phases, but we still need to clear the details. But it’s just like the [UN] peacekeeping process where we send the troops in stages,” Yvonne told the press in Jakarta on Friday.

The US-helmed ISF has decided to have an Indonesian personnel as its deputy commander. Yvonne admitted that the process to pick the newly established force’s second-in-command was “still ongoing”. Speaking at the same briefing, senior diplomat Caka Alverdi Awal repeated Indonesia’s stance that its personnel would not engage in combat, as their only job is to assist the humanitarian efforts. Any use of force by Indonesian personnel will be strictly limited to self-defense.

“Our national caveats are not on a demilitarization mission, and will not be pitted against any party,” Caka said.

Indonesia will also quit the force "at any time" if the group is no longer in tune with Jakarta's pro-Palestinian policy.

The Defense Ministry has stated that further technical details, including when the troops will set foot in the Palestinian enclave, still await Prabowo’s instructions. 

The government has signaled that at least part of the deployment may result in out-of-pocket expenses. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat — a Middle-East affairs analyst at think-tank Celios — recently cautioned that Indonesia’s deficit, which already neared its 3% cap last year, might even soar in the aftermath. Indonesia is a seasoned contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions, but such participation under the organization’s banner get financially reimbursed. 

“Sending troops outside the UN mandate could lead to Indonesia having to bear all the operational and logistics costs. It is still unclear whether [the ISF] has a cost-sharing scheme,” Zulfikar warned.