President Donald Trump teased the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace set for later this week, revealing that member states of the international body have collectively pledged over $5 billion to rebuild Gaza following Israel’s two-year war with Hamas.
The meeting will take place on Thursday at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which the State Department renamed after Trump, in Washington, D.C.
“We will announce that Member States have pledged more than $5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts, and have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
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The United States and United Arab Emirates each promised more than $1 billion toward the reconstruction effort, the New York Times previously reported. About 25 countries have joined the Board of Peace so far, though it remains to be seen how much each member has vowed to provide.
Trump’s preview of the $5 billion pledge comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally signed an agreement with the Board of Peace while visiting the White House.
Netanyahu traveled to the U.S. a week in advance of the Board of Peace meeting to discuss Gaza and other issues, including the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal talks. Because Netanyahu’s visit came earlier than initially expected, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will be taking the prime minister’s place at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Feb. 19.
As chairman of the Board of Peace, Trump is putting pressure on Hamas to demilitarize as required under his 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization,” he wrote in the social media post.
Hamas is currently in demilitarization talks with mediators in Egypt, but the terrorist group has repeatedly pushed back against the demand to disarm under the Trump-led peace plan.
Hamas has indicated its government in Gaza would be dissolved once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee assumed control of the enclave. The group has yet to relinquish full control of Gaza as Israel faces accusations for blocking members of the committee from entering the territory.
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A senior envoy on the Board of Peace is worried the technocratic committee will be rendered “ineffective” if ceasefire violations are committed by both Israel and Hamas.
“We need to make sure that what is happening now with the violations of the ceasefire stops,” High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov said at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday. “If you put the committee tomorrow in Gaza and the violations of the ceasefire continue the way they are now. We’re only embarrassing the committee and ultimately making it ineffective.”