AAP FACTCHECK – Indonesia has pledged to send troops to support Palestinians against Israel, social media posts claim.
This is misleading. Indonesia’s president-elect said the country would send troops to protect “all sides” in the conflict, if requested by the United Nations.
The claim was made in a post on X (formerly Twitter) by Simeon Boikov, also known as “Aussie Cossack”, a pro-Putin online commentator who has been seeking refuge at the Russian consulate in Sydney since January 2023, following an assault charge.
“Indonesia just announced it’s ready to deploy its troops to protect Palestinians from Israel,” the X post claims, concluding: “The Zionists are running out of friends…”
Screengrabs of the X post have been shared on Facebook, with several posts crediting Boikov as the source.
But the claim is based on a misrepresentation of the words of Indonesia’s president-elect.
Prabowo Subianto, who won the Indonesian presidential election in February 2024, made a special address on June 1 at Asian defence summit the Shangri-La Dialogue, run by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In the address, Subianto said: “When requested by the United Nations, we are prepared to contribute significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this prospective ceasefire, as well as providing protection and security to all parties and to all sides.”
In the same speech he said Indonesia supported the US-backed ceasefire agreement proposed by Israel.
Indonesia has maintained its longstanding position on ties with Israel throughout the conflict, namely that it would not recognise Israel in the absence of an independent Palestine.
The claims on social media have also been debunked by Reuters and USA Today.
The Verdict
Misleading – The claim is accurate in parts but information has also been presented incorrectly, out of context or omitted.
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