Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit
As the board meets for the first time, questions hang over Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced that several countries would send troops to help stabilize the Gaza Strip as his Board of Peace held its inaugural meeting amid uncertainty over whether Hamas will disarm.
Trump also announced the United States would contribute $10 billion to the body originally established to steer Gaza’s postwar future that is being promoted by his administration as a platform for global conflict mediation.
The Washington meeting, which was held at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, brought together officials from dozens of countries and comes as major questions hang over the current phase of Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an international stabilization force to enforce the shaky truce.
Trump announced that five countries — Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kazakhstan and Kosovo — will contribute troops to serve in the force. As planned, Jordan and Egypt will help train the Palestinian police force.
Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, said the goal is for 5,000 Palestinian police officers to be deployed within the next 60 days. The Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, said that recruitment for the police force began earlier on Thursday and had already drawn over 2,000 applicants.
“There is no other option except the full demilitarization and decommissioning of all weapons in Gaza, for reconstruction to begin and for people to have a new way of life going forward,” Mladenov said.
US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who is serving as commander of the international stabilization force, said it will first deploy to Rafah before expanding to four additional sectors across Gaza. In the long term, Jeffers added, the force aims to field about 20,000 soldiers who will work alongside roughly 12,000 Palestinian police officers.
In mid-October, the Trump administration announced a truce that halted two years of war between Israel and Hamas that health officials in Gaza say killed more than 71,000 Palestinians and displaced a majority of the population.
According to PowerPoint slides shown at Thursday’s meeting, Gaza’s reconstruction would proceed in phases and begin in Rafah, the city on the Egyptian border that endured some of the war’s heaviest fighting. Each area in Gaza would be cleared of rubble, unexploded ordnance and Hamas tunnels before permanent housing and infrastructure are built.
But reconstruction in the war-torn Palestinian enclave hinges on whether Hamas can be persuaded to hand over its weapons as required under the October ceasefire brokered by the United States and several regional partners. Major donor countries are unlikely to pour significant funds into reconstruction if there’s risk of renewed war, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to prevent any rebuilding efforts until Hamas is demilitarized.
“I think they're going to give up their weapons, which is what they promised,” Trump said, adding that Hamas will be “harshly met” if it doesn’t.
Trump announced a $7 billion relief package funded by Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. In addition, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is raising $2 billion for Gaza, and FIFA will pledge over $75 million for “soccer-related” projects in the territory, Trump said.
The initial pledges represent only a fraction of the roughly $70 billion that United Nations development experts say is required to rebuild the shattered enclave.
Representatives from several dozen countries attended on Thursday, including the king of Bahrain, the prime ministers of Qatar and Egypt and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Israel.
While major Middle Eastern countries have joined the Trump-chaired board, most Western allies declined their invitations last month, concerned by its broad mandate and potential to rival the United Nations. They instead sent lower-level officials to attend as observers.
“Some are playing a little cute,” Trump said. He went on to describe the board as a body that is “going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
