Trump's Board of Peace members pledge $7bn in Gaza relief

Trump said it "looks like" Hamas will disarm, even though there are signs the group is regrouping.

Troops for Gaza and money top agenda as Trump’s Board of Peace meets

US president vows multinational force and billions of dollars as autocrats and rightwing allies gather in DC The US has proposed commanding a multinational force in postwar Gaza with troops from Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco, as Donald Trump unveiled his ad-hoc Board of Peace in Washington to heavy international scrutiny. The US plan would require the full disarmament of Hamas and support from Israel, which has tempered expectations that the Trump-friendly committee stacked with autocrats and rightwing allies will be able to deliver on the vision of ending the conflict and rebuilding Gaza as a “riviera”. Continue reading...

By Andrew Roth in Washington DC

Decades of international failure on Palestine

"Board of Peace" convenes after decades of inaction on Palestinian demands to end the Israeli occupation.

Trump says US contributing $10B to Board of Peace, Iran must reach nuclear deal or 'bad things happen'

President Trump announces $10 billion U.S. commitment to Board of Peace initiative as he urges Iran to join the larger effort to bring peace to the region.

Trump outlines global commitments to rebuild Gaza during Board of Peace debut

The gathering in Washington comes as Trump seeks to cultivate a reputation as a peacemaker, even as the US escalates threats against Iran and bolsters its military presence in the region

By Trevor Hunnicutt,Steve Holland,Simon Lewis and Samia Nakhoul

‘I almost terminated him’: Why did Donald Trump say he wanted to fire US Secretary of State Marco Rubio?

President Trump playfully teased Secretary of State Marco Rubio and First Lady Melania Trump about sharing the spotlight at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting. The board, focused on the Gaza ceasefire and rebuilding, saw pledges of $7 billion from several nations, with the US contributing $10 billion. Trump praised both Rubio and Vice President Vance for their contributions.

By TOI World Desk

Pakistan not among 5 nations announced to have committed troops for International Stabilisation Force in Gaza

US President Donald Trump on Thursday promised $10 billion and Muslim-majority nations offered funding and troops for Gaza at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington. Pakistan, however, was not named among the five nations who have committed troops for the International Stabilisation Force, which will be tas­k­ed with securing reconstruction zones and supporting a post-conflict governance arrangement in Gaza. Trump brought together allies from around the world — many authoritarians, with few Western democrats who traditionally ally with the United States — to hail his peacemaking at the first Board of Peace meeting. Presiding with a gavel over the meeting in the gleaming Washington building of the former US Institute of Peace, which has been gutted and renamed after the 79-year-old Republican, Trump hailed the “powerful people” who joined his board. “We will help Gaza. We will straighten it out. We’ll make it successful,” Trump said, holding up a document with pledges before the disco beats of his adopted theme-song “YMCA” came on the speakers. “We will make it peaceful, and we will do things like that in other spots. Spots will come up, things will happen,” Trump said. Troops pledges The Board of Peace came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating Israeli onslaught in Gaza. The plan’s second phase calls for the disarmament of Hamas. In a first for an Arab country, Morocco announced it was ready to send police as well as officers to the nascent International Stabilisation Force. The force’s American commander, Major General Jasper Jeffers, said that Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Kosovo were also sending troops and announced that an Indonesian officer would serve as his deputy. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, earlier said it was ready to send 8,000 troops — nearly half of the 20,000 sought. Trump hailed Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who attended, calling the former military officer accused of human rights abuses in East Timor a “tough cookie.” Nickolay Mladenov, a veteran Bulgarian diplomat named high representative for Gaza by the United States, also announced the beginning of recruitment for a post-Hamas police force in Gaza and said 2,000 people had applied in the first hours. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi was also asked about the ISF and Pakistan’s view on it during a weekly briefing in Islamabad today. In response, he said: “We understand that a decision is awaited on the contours of the mandate of the International Stabilisation Force, and till such time, we’re not in a position to take any decision on this matter. “We have identified our red lines quite explicitly. The deputy prime minister and the foreign minister has done so here from this platform, and elsewhere. Pakistan can be part of a peacekeeping mandate, but we would not be part of any disarming/ demilitarisation mandates. This discussion at [the Board of Peace meeting in] Washington might take place today. We will update you as and when these developments take place.” For his part, Trump said during the moot in Washington that he hoped the use of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary. He said Hamas had promised to disarm and it “looks like they’re going to be doing that, but we’ll have to find out.” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, representing Israel at the meeting, demanded disarmament of Hamas and “a fundamental deradicalisation process” in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Israel that Hamas will be disarmed one way or the other. “Very soon, Hamas will face a dilemma - to disarm peacefully or disarmed forcefully,” he said. In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said any international force must “monitor the ceasefire and prevent the (Israeli) occupation from continuing its aggression”. Disarmament could be discussed, he said, without directly committing to it. Gaza reconstruction Trump, who has sharply curtailed foreign aid, said the United States would contribute $10bn to the Board of Peace. He also announced that contributing nations had raised $7bn as an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each promised at least $1bn. White House Press Secretary said more than $6.5bn was pledged, presumably excluding Trump’s offer. Trump also said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and that the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance. “Together we can achieve the dream of bringing lasting harmony to a region tortured by centuries of war, suffering,” said the realtor-turned-president, who has spoken improbably of building tourist resorts in Gaza. Trump did not explain exactly where the money would go and whether Congress had approved the contribution he announced for the institution, which has drawn criticism for its opaque nature. Trump will wield veto power over the Board of Peace and can remain its head even after leaving office, while countries that want to stay on permanently rather than enjoy a two-year stint will need to pay $1bn. Critics say the Board of Peace remains vague, including how it would interact with existing institutions, including the United Nations, to which Trump has drastically cut support. “It’s a confused mix of ambition and narcissism, unleavened by any effort at intellectual coherence,” said Bruce Jones, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Initial input from Reuters

By none@none.com (AFP)

Board of Peace attendance not a whim, not kowtowing to US says Tajani

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 19 - Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday his attendance as an observer at the inaugural meeting in Washington of United States President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza and other conflicts was not an whim on Rome's part and Italy was not kowtowing to the US as alleged by the domestic opposition. "Italy is a large Mediterranean country, and the fact that a majority of European Union countries, plus the European Commission, and non-EU European countries like Great Britain were present today means that Europe is paying attention, which is not an Italian whim," said Tajani, who is also one of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's two deputy premiers. "We believe in transatlantic relations" and "the relationship is with the United States. Beware of saying we're friends with the United States only if the governments we like are there. "(US Secretary of State Marco) Rubio and I are in perfect harmony, but that never means bowing our heads. If we agree, we say we agree, but if we don't, we say so," for example on Greenland. "So no one should think we're kowtowing to the US. "All the controversy stirred up by the Left these days has also been proven completely unfounded: when the majority of European countries participate in what we're seeing today, it means we were right; we would have been isolated if we hadn't gone there," he emphasized. The Italian opposition reiterated its criticism o the Meloni government's decision to attend the Washington meeting of the newly formed Board, which critics say wants to supplant the United Nations and is allegedly stacked with allegedly authoritarian leaders like those of Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Hungary and Qatar. Angelo Bonelli, co-leader of the Green-Left Alliance (AVS), accused the government of "bowing" to a "shameful real estate board" led by lifelong chair Trump. "When the minister claims that 'we work exclusively for peace' and that Italy cannot remain on the sidelines, he fails to mention that what he is participating in is not a multilateral initiative founded by the United Nations, but a private organization, promoted and claimed by Donald Trump as his own political creation, whose goal is to replace the UN and engage in real estate speculation," Bonelli said. "The Board of Peace was created outside of international law, intervening to carry out real estate speculation in Gaza—a territory where ethnic cleansing took place, resulting in over 70,000 deaths. "Article 1 of the Board of Peace's statute mandates that it cover all areas of the world where conflicts exist, to foster the emergence of reliable governments, and the statute stipulates that Trump will lead it for life. "We are in neo-feudalism, and Italy has sworn allegiance to sovereign Trump. "The government has ignored the opposition's united request not to participate and has chosen to place Italy in this international disgrace. "With this decision, Italy has once again chosen to be on the wrong side of history, marginalizing the Palestinian people in the name of money that will enrich American billionaires, and failing to punish the criminal responsibilities of the Netanyahu government." (ANSA). Read article...

By ANSA

'Erdoğan remains committed to Gaza's security stabilization, recovery'

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is committed to ensuring the stability of Gaza, while noting that Türkiye is prepared to provide t...