WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is gathering a slate of foreign leaders in the U.S. capital to inaugurate the “Board of Peace,” a new initiative he casts as a vehicle to consolidate a fragile calm in Gaza and project an alternative model of U.S.-led crisis management far beyond the Middle East.
About two dozen heads of state and senior officials are expected, including several of Trump’s closest ideological allies — among them Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Argentina’s President Javier Milei — but few of the European democracies that traditionally rally to U.S. initiatives. France and Canada are not participating. Japan, typically among Washington’s most reliable partners, is sending an envoy focused on Gaza and has yet to decide whether to join the board.
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U.S. officials say the gathering follows an October cease-fire in Gaza negotiated by the Trump administration with Qatar and Egypt to halt two years of war. They describe the effort as entering a second phase focused on disarming Hamas, the Palestinian militant group whose Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel triggered the massive Israeli offensive.
At the meeting, Trump is expected to outline pledges exceeding $5 billion for Gaza reconstruction — a territory where vast stretches lie in rubble — and discuss plans for an International Stabilization Force to secure the enclave. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, has signaled it is prepared to contribute up to 8,000 troops if the force is approved. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is set to attend after joining a launch event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.
Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump confidant now acting as a roving negotiator, and other U.S. officials say the disarmament track is gaining traction and that Hamas is under pressure to relinquish weapons. Israel has pressed for sweeping restrictions, including the seizure of assault rifles. “The heavy weapon, the one that does the most damage, is called an AK-47,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently. “That’s the main weapon, and that has to go.” Israel’s government will be represented at the meeting by the foreign minister.
Jeremy Issacharoff, a strategic affairs expert at Israel’s Reichman University, called stripping Hamas of arms “not a simple task,” but said a credible pathway would determine “whether this exercise can get off the ground.” In a step toward a postwar administration, a technocratic committee led by engineer and former official Ali Shaath was formed last month to manage day-to-day governance in Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the Board of Peace should compel Israel to stop “violations in Gaza” and lift the territory’s long-standing blockade.
The meeting is being held in the Washington building that once housed the U.S. Institute of Peace. Staff at the conflict-resolution institution were fired by Trump, and his name was placed over the entrance. Under terms laid out by the White House, Trump will wield veto power over the Board of Peace and can remain its head even after leaving office. Countries seeking permanent membership, rather than a two-year term, would be required to pay $1 billion.
U.S. officials insist this week’s agenda is centered on Gaza but also describe the board in broader terms, as a flexible platform to address other global hotspots. The expansive remit has drawn criticism. “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.
The rollout comes as Trump distances the United States from the United Nations, scaling back funding and withdrawing from key bodies. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected an invitation, arguing the board should be limited to Gaza and include a seat for Palestine. Last month, Lula derided it as “a new UN where only he is the owner.”
Other leaders in attendance include figures eager for U.S. attention, such as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has courted Trump as Islamabad navigates tensions with India.
Beyond the immediate humanitarian and security aims, Trump has floated controversial ideas for Gaza’s future, including resort development — an idea dismissed by many experts given the scale of devastation. Whether the Board of Peace can marshal sufficient funding, enforce disarmament and stand up a credible stabilization force will test both its legitimacy and the durability of the cease-fire that made this moment possible.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
