Prabowo backs Palestine and Israel in bold UN speech

Move seen as largely symbolic, an attempt to enhance Indonesia's global standing

- Arlina Arshad

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto walked a delicate diplomatic line in pledging support for a Palestine state while offering unprecedented security assurance to Israel at the UN General Assembly on Sept 23. PHOTO: REUTERS

(REUTERS)

In a fiery debut at the United Nations General Assembly, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto thumped the lectern as he walked a delicate diplomatic line — pledging continued support for a Palestine state while offering an unprecedented security assurance to Israel.

For the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and a longtime critic of Israel, the pledge marks Indonesia’s boldest reference to the Jewish state at a major international forum, though practical policy shifts remain uncertain in a country where anti-Israel sentiment runs deep.

“We must guarantee statehood for Palestine, but Indonesia also declares that once Israel recognises the independence and the statehood of Palestine, Indonesia will immediately recognise the state of Israel,” Mr Prabowo told world leaders on Sept 23. “And we will support all guarantees for the security of Israel.”

Mr Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst at the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency, described the pledge as a careful messaging strategy to present Indonesia as a strategic multilateral partner.

“The speech is indeed part of Prabowo’s narrative effort to embrace two opposing groups (Israel and Palestine), so he can be accepted by Arab countries, as well as the US and Israel,” he told The Straits Times, adding that it aligns with Indonesia's foreign policy of not taking sides.

Mr Prabowo’s attendance also ended a decade-long absence of Indonesian presidents from the high-level UN conference, signalling a desire to project influence globally.