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Five countries have committed troops for an international security force for Gaza, the commander of the force said Thursday during a meeting in Washington, D.C., of President Donald Trump’s newly created Board of Peace.
“The first five countries have committed troops to serve in the ISF — Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania. Two countries have committed to train police — Egypt and Jordan,” said U.S. army Maj.-Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander for the International Stabilization Force (ISF).
Jeffers also said the ISF would begin by deploying in Rafa in southern Gaza, train police there and “expand sector by sector.”
The long-term plan is to use 20,000 ISF troops and train 12,000 police, Jeffers said.
In a flurry of announcements at the end of a long, winding speech to representatives from 47 nations, Trump said the U.S. will make a contribution of $10 billion US to the Board of Peace. The source for the U.S. contribution was not immediately clear; Congress played no role in authorizing the peace project.
He said nine contributing nations had raised $7 billion as an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction, a Gaza reconstruction fund that aims to rebuild the enclave once the militant group Hamas disarms, an objective that is far from becoming a reality.
WATCH | Trump appears to take criticism personally despite board’s lofty aspirations :
No Palestinian representative on board
Trump also said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.
Trump first proposed the board last September when he announced his plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza. He later made clear the board’s remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his ‘Board for Peace’ in Davos, Switzerland, but so far, few Western allies have joined. Originally endorsed by the United Nations as part of a Gaza peace plan, its charter makes no mention of Gaza at all. Some critics are now accusing Trump of trying to set up his own rival UN.
The Board of Peace includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives.Trump’s suggestion that the board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the UN role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.
“We’re going to strengthen the United Nations,” Trump said, trying to assuage his critics. “It’s really very important.”
The majority of U.S. allies in NATO or the European Union have opted not to participate. Canada demurred over a significant admission price for a permanent seat and Trump later rescinded the Canadian invitation, not long after a frank speech from Prime Minister Mark Carney in Davos.
The disarmament of Hamas militants and accompanying withdrawal of Israeli troops, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test the effectiveness of the board in the weeks and months ahead.
With respect to the international security force, Indonesia President Parbowo Subianto said in Washington his country will contribute 8,000 or more troops, while Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said they would deploy military units, including medical units, to the stablization force. Two thousand Palestinians have applied to join a new transitional Palestinian police force, Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for Gaza, said at Thursday’s meeting.
Hamas, fearful of Israeli reprisals, has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as part of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan that brought about a fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year-old Gaza war.
Andrew Chang explains what $1 billion US buys members on Trump’s new Board of Peace.
Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
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.” Several hundred Palestinians have been killed since the putative ceasefire in October.
Disarmament could be discussed, he said, without directly committing to it.
Norway clarifies Trump claim
Trump said at the Thursday meeting that Norway had agreed to “host an event bringing together the Board of Peace,” but the government in Oslo quickly issued a clarification.
Norway said it was hosting a meeting this spring of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHCL) for Palestinian aid but is not joining Trump’s board.
Norway has for decades led the AHCL, which was set up in the wake of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords that sought to bring to an end to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
“The United States, together with the European Union, are vice-chairs of this group … We are in contact with the U.S. about how we can also talk about the peace plan for Gaza there,” a spokesperson for Norway’s Foreign Ministry said.
“Norway has clearly communicated that we will not become a member of the Board of Peace, and this position remains firm.”
While Trump boasted at the event about bringing peace to the Middle East, the meeting came amid a massive U.S. military buildup in a region that has fuelled fears of a wider war. The U.S. has been in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, and Trump said Thursday that “bad things” will happen to Iran if it fails to come an agreement.
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