(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square) The inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace met in Washington, D.C. at the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace on Thursday morning, with the president pledging $10 billion to the Gaza reconstruction.
President Donald Trump opened and gaveled out the three-hour-long meeting, which included comments from the nearly 50 international leaders and representatives gathered at the historic event.
“Board of Peace is one of the most important and consequential things, I think, that I’ll be involved in,” the president told the attendees. Adding that it is the most “prestigious board” ever compiled.
“We worked together to ensure the brighter future for the people of Gaza, the Middle East and the entire world.”
In addition to the $10 billion committed on behalf of American taxpayers, the president announced the countries of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are committing over $7 billion “toward the relief package.” Trump added that several others are expected to contribute, including a fundraising effort led by Japan, and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance is raising $2 billion in support of reconstruction.
“The nations represented here today…are not just contributing money, some are also pledging personnel to help preserve the cease fire and secure a very enduring peace,” the president added.
Trump announced Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan have committed troops and police to stabilize Gaza, while Egypt and Jordan are also providing “substantial help” in the form of troops, training and “support for a very trustworthy Palestinian police force.”
It was announced during the meeting that 500 Palestinians have applied to join the police force.
However, the president did underscore the importance of Hamas completely disarming as part of the 20-point peace deal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio underscored that a lot of work remains in the region, requiring the assistance of an international body.
“There’s a lot of work that remains. It will require the contribution of every nation state represented here today…We hope that this can serve as a model for other complex and difficult situations, so they can be solved in the same way. But right now, the focus is on this one. We have to get this right,” Rubio said during the meeting. “There is no plan B for Gaza. Plan B is going back to war. No one here wants that. Plan A, the only path forward. Path forward is one that rebuilds Gaza in a way of enduring and sustainable peace.”
While much of the meeting focused on the future of Gaza, Trump used a portion of his speech to send another strong warning to Iran as tensions rise amid continued talks in hopes of avoiding additional strikes on the Islamic Republic.
The president said that Iran cannot continue to “threaten the stability of the entire region,” insisting the Islamic Republic “must make a deal.”
“If that doesn’t happen…bad things will happen,” said Trump.
Leaders and representatives in attendance at the inaugural meeting were: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, EU, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The formation of the Board of Peace was announced after a peace plan was reached between Israel and Hamas last fall, following the Israel-Hamas war, which cost thousands of lives on both sides.
