Trump Holds 1st Board of Peace Meeting 02/19 06:11

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will gather Thursday with 
representatives from more than two dozen countries that have joined his Board 
of Peace -- and several that have opted not to -- for an inaugural meeting that 
will focus on reconstruction and building an international stabilization force 
for a war-battered Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal persists.

   Trump announced ahead of the meeting that board members have pledged $5 
billion for reconstruction, a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to 
rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war. Members are 
expected to unveil commitments of thousands of personnel to international 
stabilization and police forces for the territory.

   "We have the greatest leaders in the world joining the Board of Peace," 
Trump told reporters earlier this week. "I think it has the chance to be the 
most consequential board ever assembled of any kind."

   The board was initiated as part of Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the 
conflict in Gaza. But since the October ceasefire, Trump's vision for the board 
has morphed and he wants it to have an even more ambitious remit -- one that 
will not only complete the Herculean task of bringing lasting peace between 
Israel and Hamas but will also help resolve conflicts around the globe.

   But ahead of the board's first gathering, the Gaza ceasefire deal remains 
fragile and Trump's expanded vision for it has triggered fears the U.S. 
president is looking to create a rival to the United Nations. Trump earlier 
this week said he hoped the board would push the U.N. to "get on the ball."

   "The United Nations has great potential," he said. "They haven't lived up to 
the potential."

   Some US allies remain skeptical

   More than 40 countries and the European Union have confirmed they will send 
officials to Thursday's meeting, according to a senior administration official 
who was not authorized to comment publicly. Germany, Italy, Norway and 
Switzerland are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the 
board but are expected to attend as observers, the official said.

   The U.N. Security Council held a high-level meeting Wednesday on the 
ceasefire deal and Israel's efforts to expand control in the West Bank. The 
U.N. session in New York was originally scheduled for Thursday but was moved up 
after Trump announced the board's meeting for the same date and it became clear 
that it would complicate travel plans for diplomats planning to attend both.

   Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters earlier 
this week that "at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that 
manages these crisis situations." The Trump administration on Wednesday pushed 
back on the Vatican's concerns.

   "This president has a very bold and ambitious plan and vision to rebuild and 
reconstruct Gaza, which is well underway because of the Board of Peace," White 
House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "This is a legitimate organization 
where there are tens of member countries from around the world."

   Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., also pushed back on skeptical 
allies, saying the board is "not talking, it is doing."

   "We are hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of the board, 
that it's unconventional, that it's unprecedented," Waltz said. "Again, the old 
ways were not working."

   Questions about disarming Hamas

   Central to Thursday's discussions will be creating an armed international 
stabilization force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the militant 
Hamas group, a key demand of Israel and a cornerstone of the ceasefire deal.

   But thus far, only Indonesia has offered a firm commitment to Trump for the 
proposed force. And Hamas has provided little confidence that it is willing to 
move forward on disarmament. The administration is "under no illusions on the 
challenges regarding demilitarization" but has been encouraged by what 
mediators have reported back, according to a U.S. official who was not 
authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

   Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to work closely with other 
leading Islamic countries invited by Trump to "join in the endeavors to try to 
achieve lasting peace in Palestine."

   "We recognize there are still obstacles to be overcome, but at least my 
position is at least we have to try, and we have to do our best," he said at an 
event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, where he met with members 
of the business community.

   On Thursday, updates are expected from the Gaza Executive Board, the 
operational arm of the board, about its efforts to create a functioning 
government system and services for the territory, according to the official who 
spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the broad outlines of the meeting.

   In addition to Trump, the official said other speakers at the conference 
would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Steve 
Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony 
Blair, the executive board's high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and Waltz.

   Michael Hanna, U.S. program director at the International Crisis Group, a 
nonprofit group focused on preventing conflicts, suggested the skepticism some 
U.S. allies are showing is not unwarranted.

   "Without any clear authorization for the expansion of its mandate beyond 
Gaza, it is unsurprising that many U.S. allies and partners have chosen to 
decline Trump's offer to join the board," Hanna said. "Instead, many of the 
states most invested in Gaza's future have signed up with the hope of focusing 
U.S. attention and encouraging Trump himself to use the influence and leverage 
he has with Israel."