WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the United States will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace — an international organization he launched in January to help rebuild the Gaza Strip and secure peace in other conflict zones.
At the board’s first meeting in Washington on Thursday, he said other member countries will contribute billions more and send soldiers for Palestinian security.
“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built starting right here,” Trump said at the meeting attended by 17 world leaders who are part of the board, as well as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
“We will help Gaza,” Trump said. “We will straighten it out. We will make it successful. We will make it peaceful. And we will do that in other spots. The Board of Peace is going to lead the way in Gaza.”
In addition to the U.S., seven other countries, including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, have contributed more than $7 billion to help the Gaza relief effort, Trump announced. The United Nations Office of Humanitarian Assistance is raising $2 billion to support Gaza, and FIFA plans to raise $75 million and to bring World Cup soccer stars to the war-torn territory, he said.
An estimated $70 billion is reportedly needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war with Israel.
Approved by the United Nations Security Council last year, the Board of Peace was initiated as part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza, starting with a ceasefire that began in October. The second stage of the plan, focused on demilitarization and reconstruction, was announced in January.
During Thursday’s meeting, Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco committed to 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. Egypt and Jordan committed to training a police force, U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander of the Gaza International Stabilization Force, said Thursday.
Jeffers said a team of U.S. military experts is already on the ground in Gaza preparing the infrastructure for ISF headquarters to oversee five sectors in Gaza, each of which will receive a brigade of troops. The long-term goal is to have 12,000 police and 20,000 ISF soldiers, he said, starting with Rafah — the border crossing at the southern end of the 140-square-mile coastal territory.
“This is a vision of Gaza as part of the Middle East at peace,” former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said at the meeting.
That vision includes “effective public institutions serving the people, a business environment where enterprise flourishes, an education system educating the young for tolerance and achievement, and a tech-enabled society making the most of the digital revolution,” he said.
Before any of that can happen, 70 million tons of rubble needs to be taken away and recycled, and hundreds of miles of underground tunnels Hamas used to store weapons and conduct covert operations must also be removed, Israeli billionaire and Board of Peace member Yakir Gabay said at the meeting.
Gabay said fast, temporary housing is a priority for the nearly 2 million Gazans who have been displaced from their homes. He said “the funding is ready” for the local population to build their own cities, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and reviving the Palestinian economy.
Apollo Global Management CEO and Board of Peace member Marc Rowan said a building plan will begin in Rafah with 100,000 homes for 500,000 residents and $5 billion in transportation, water and energy infrastructure. Over time, 400,000 homes to house the entire population with more than $30 billion in infrastructure will be built, he said.
A video that screened during the meeting provided a more detailed timeline.
By Year 3, the goal is that Rafah will be fully rebuilt, unemployment will be curbed, and Gaza will be reconnected to the world through a gateway that links it with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and eventually India and Europe, according to the video. By Year 10, it said, “Gaza will be self-governed, integrated into the region with thriving industries and housing for all.”
During its inaugural meeting, the board unanimously voted to approve a resolution to establish the principles of financial integrity and transparency that will guide the board’s work, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said before Trump signed the document.
More than 40 countries and the European Union sent officials to Thursday’s meeting, including Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland, who are not members but attended as observers. The leaders of Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Uzbekistan and Vietnam — all board members — attended the meeting in person.
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ukraine are among the countries that were invited to join the Board of Peace but have so far declined, with many of them expressing concerns that the U.S. is looking to create a rival to the United Nations.
The Board of Peace charter “goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions,” French President Emmanuel Macron said last month, “in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.”
