By Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat & Yeta Purnama

This is not to question Indonesia’s commitment to the Palestinian cause. Indonesia has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinian independence, and its people have stood in solidarity with Gaza through countless tragedies. But solidarity should empower, not displace.

Indonesia’s newly elected President, Prabowo Subianto, recently made headlines with an announcement that he plans to evacuate 1,000 Palestinian civilians from Gaza to Indonesia. Touted as a humanitarian initiative, the plan promises to rescue the wounded, the traumatized, and orphaned children from the war-ravaged strip and bring them to safety.

On its face, it appears to be a noble gesture—an act of empathy from the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. But peel back the layers, and troubling questions emerge: Is this truly an act of solidarity, or is it an unintentional endorsement of Israel’s decades-long project to depopulate and dominate Gaza?

The President’s rhetoric was carefully crafted. In a public address streamed via official state channels, Prabowo emphasized that the evacuations would be temporary, with all necessary permissions secured from Palestinian authorities. He assured the public that evacuees would return once conditions allowed. But history—and geopolitics—tell us that nothing is ever that simple in Palestine.

Evacuating civilians from Gaza does not just carry humanitarian consequences—it carries deep political ramifications. For decades, Israel has implemented policies that aim to fracture Palestinian identity by dispersing its people across borders, locking them out of their own homeland. Gaza is not just a strip of land—it is the last stronghold of a people resisting total erasure. Every child, every home, every street is a testament to survival. Moving Palestinians out—even with the best intentions—risks playing directly into a strategy of depopulation and occupation.

Vice Chairman of Indonesia’s Ulama Council (MUI), Buya Anwar Abbas, was quick to voice concern. He rightly pointed out the uncomfortable overlap between Prabowo’s plan and the long-standing Israeli-American agenda to “empty” Gaza. U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “peace plan” proposed relocating Palestinians from their ancestral homes, under the guise of humanitarian assistance. That plan was widely condemned as a strategic move to enable Israeli annexation. Prabowo’s plan, whether intentionally or not, echoes the same playbook.

The danger lies in precedent. Once Gaza’s population is reduced—even temporarily—what guarantees are there that those evacuated will ever be allowed to return? Palestinian history is filled with broken promises and barred returns. Millions of refugees still live in limbo across the region, denied the right to return home. Why should we believe this case will be different?

This is not to question Indonesia’s commitment to the Palestinian cause. Indonesia has long been a vocal supporter of Palestinian independence, and its people have stood in solidarity with Gaza through countless tragedies. But solidarity should empower, not displace. Aid should bolster a people’s ability to stay on their land, to resist, to heal, and to rebuild. Not to quietly remove them in the name of safety while their homeland is systematically destroyed.

Other key Muslim leaders in Indonesia—from Nahdlatul Ulama’s KH Cholil Nafis to Muhammadiyah’s Din Syamsuddin—have joined the chorus of opposition. They rightly assert that the real issue is not the suffering of the people, but the aggression of the Israeli military. “The problem is not Gaza’s people,” Cholil said, “but Israel’s refusal to abide by international law.” He and others have warned that evacuating Palestinians, rather than stopping the assault, simply aids the aggressor.

The United Nations has also firmly rejected any plans to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza to third countries, including Indonesia. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated unequivocally that such forced relocations constitute a violation of international law. Responding to widespread criticism of these proposals, Guterres emphasized that “Palestinians must be able to live in a Palestinian state, side by side with Israel”—a sentiment that reinforces the global consensus on a two-state solution. He further condemned the current suffering of Gaza’s population as a form of “collective punishment,” urging an immediate end to such practices. The UN’s stance is clear: removing Palestinians from their land under the guise of safety is not humanitarian—it is illegal, unjust, and fundamentally undermines the path to a just peace.

Instead of airlifting victims away from their homeland, Indonesia should be sending in doctors, supplies, and rebuilding efforts. The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, a vital symbol of international solidarity, was reduced to rubble by Israeli bombs. Why not prioritize its reconstruction? Why not deploy Indonesian medical teams to border hospitals, or strengthen diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire? These are ways to help that do not undermine the integrity of Palestinian land and people.

But more importantly, Indonesia must think beyond band-aid solutions—beyond evacuations, airlifts, and short-term aid. True solidarity means investing political capital in securing a long-term peace. It means using our position in the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the UN to demand not just humanitarian corridors but real accountability. It means shifting the conversation from temporary relief to permanent rights: the right of Palestinians to live in peace, with dignity, on their own land.

We must reject the dangerous idea that evacuating Palestinians is the same as saving them. Helping them stay, fight for their rights, and rebuild their nation is the true path to justice.

President Prabowo may be acting from a place of compassion—but good intentions are not enough. In matters of colonialism and occupation, neutrality is a myth, and “temporary” often becomes permanent. Gaza does not need to be emptied. Gaza needs to be defended, rebuilt, and preserved as a home for Palestinians, not a ghost town cleared by war and cemented by humanitarian evacuation.

Helping Palestine means helping them stay. Not go. And certainly not by making Indonesia an unknowing accessory to a larger plan of occupation and erasure.

– The authors are researchers at the Indonesia-MENA Desk at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) in Jakarta. They contributed this article to the Palestine Chronicle.

The views expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Palestine Chronicle.