In 2004, President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed a Joint Communiqué with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, affirming Indonesia's support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
From 2006 to 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono distributed humanitarian aid through the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and organized the Asia-Pacific Conference on Palestinian Development.
In 2012, Indonesia co-sponsored the UN resolution that elevated Palestine's status to a non-member observer state.
Medical aid, scholarships, and political support continued to flow from Jakarta to Ramallah and Gaza.
Under the leadership of President Joko Widodo and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (now President), support for Palestine has been elevated—from a symbol of solidarity to a strategic diplomatic initiative:
1. An International Forum and Support at the UN. Indonesia hosted the OIC Extraordinary Summit in Jakarta in 2016, which resulted in the "Jakarta Declaration" for Palestine.
2. Humanitarian Diplomacy in Gaza. Since 2023, amid the fighting in Gaza, Indonesia has sent medical and logistical aid, including the construction of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, North Gaza, which has become a symbol of Asian solidarity.
3. Prabowo Subianto's Role in the Peace Process (2024–2025). As Defense Minister and now President, Prabowo Subianto has played an unprecedented role in the Gaza conflict, such as:
- Attending the Peace Conference in Cairo, Egypt, and conveying Indonesia's commitment to mediating and stabilizing Gaza.
- Offering to send 20,000 Indonesian peacekeepers under a UN mandate—a bold move never before offered by any Arab country.
- Declaring Indonesia's readiness to accommodate Palestinian orphans and the wounded for treatment in Indonesia.
- Emphasizing that Indonesia will not normalize relations with Israel before Palestine is independent, but will remain open to constructive humanitarian diplomacy.
These steps mark a transformation in Indonesian diplomacy—from that of moral observer to an active peacemaker.
Indonesia's steps under President Prabowo Subianto have the following significance:
First, it demonstrates that non-Arab Muslim countries can play a significant role in Middle East stability.