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Trump gathers members of Board of Peace for first meeting, with some U.S. allies wary

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− By The Associated Press President Donald Trump's name is seen on the U.S.
+ By Michele Kelemen , Aya Batrawy President Trump, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday.
− Institute of Peace building, Dec.
+ SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images hide caption President Trump convened the first meeting of the Board of Peace Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. Trump created the group to oversee his ceasefire plan in Gaza, and announced Thursday that member states have pledged $7 billion for reconstruction in Gaza.
− 4, 2025, in Washington.
+ He also said the U.S.
− Evan Vucci/AP hide caption WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will gather Thursday with representatives from more than two dozen countries that have joined his Board of Peace — and several that have opted not to — for an inaugural meeting that will focus on reconstruction and building an international stabilization force for a war-battered Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal persists.
+ would contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace.
− Trump announced ahead of the meeting that board members have pledged $5 billion for reconstruction, a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war.
+ Representatives of more than 40 countries gathered at the U.S.
− Members are expected to unveil commitments of thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory.
+ Institute of Peace — a building that now bears Trump's name. In opening remarks, Trump credited his Secretary of State Marco Rubio for taking over the building.
− "We have the greatest leaders in the world joining the Board of Peace," Trump told reporters earlier this week.
+ The Board of Peace is chaired by Trump and the group was formally established last month. Trump addressed a room full of heads of state and top diplomats.
− "I think it has the chance to be the most consequential board ever assembled of any kind." State of the World from NPR What to know about President Trump's Board of Peace The board was initiated as part of Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
+ The meeting includes dignitaries from countries including Argentina, Hungary, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
− But since the October ceasefire, Trump's vision for the board has morphed and he wants it to have an even more ambitious remit — one that will not only complete the Herculean task of bringing lasting peace between Israel and Hamas but will also help resolve conflicts around the globe.
+ Meanwhile, France and the United Kingdom, which have not joined the board out of concerns that Russia could be part of this new group, sent observers to the meeting.
− But ahead of the board's first gathering, the Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile and Trump's expanded vision for it has triggered fears the U.S.
+ Israel and Arab states are part of this board and they too have representatives at the meeting.
− president is looking to create a rival to the United Nations.
+ There is no Palestinian representative on the board. "This is the most prestigious board ever put together.
− Trump earlier this week said he hoped the board would push the U.N.
+ You know, I've seen some great corporate boards.
− to "get on the ball." "The United Nations has great potential," he said.
+ I've seen some great boards, period.
− "They haven't lived up to the potential." More than 40 countries and the European Union have confirmed they will send officials to Thursday's meeting, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly. Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the board but are expected to attend as observers, the official said.
+ It's peanuts compared to this board," Trump told the assembled dignitaries.
− The U.N.
+ Some fear Trump's new organization could be used to undermine the United Nations.
− Security Council held a high-level meeting Wednesday on the ceasefire deal and Israel's efforts to expand control in the West Bank.
+ On Wednesday, a U.N.
− The U.N. session in New York was originally scheduled for Thursday but was moved up after Trump announced the board's meeting for the same date and it became clear that it would complicate travel plans for diplomats planning to attend both.
+ Security Council meeting on Gaza was moved up in order to accommodate diplomats being able to attend both meetings.
− Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters earlier this week that "at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations." The Trump administration on Wednesday pushed back on the Vatican's concerns.
+ Trump acknowledged the possibility of a broader future role for the panel in his remarks Thursday.
− World Trump's Board of Peace has several invited leaders trying to figure out how it'll work "This president has a very bold and ambitious plan and vision to rebuild and reconstruct Gaza, which is well underway because of the Board of Peace," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
+ "Someday I won't be here, the United Nations will be, I think, is going to be much stronger.
− "This is a legitimate organization where there are tens of member countries from around the world." Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., also pushed back on skeptical allies, saying the board is "not talking, it is doing." "We are hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of the board, that it's unconventional, that it's unprecedented," Waltz said. "Again, the old ways were not working." Central to Thursday's discussions will be 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.
+ The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly," Trump said, adding that they will be working "very closely" with the U.N.
− But thus far, only Indonesia has offered a firm commitment to Trump for the proposed force.
+ "But we're going to strengthen up the United Nations.
− And Hamas has provided little confidence that it is willing to move forward on disarmament.
+ We're going to make sure it's facilities are good.
− The administration is "under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization" but has been encouraged by what mediators have reported back, according to a U.S.
+ They need help, and they need help money wise.
− official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
+ We're going to help them money wise. And we're going to make sure the United Nations is viable, and you have some very good people that the United Nations can do a good job," he said.
− Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to work closely with other leading Islamic countries invited by Trump to "join in the endeavors to try to achieve lasting peace in Palestine." "We recognize there are still obstacles to be overcome, but at least my position is at least we have to try, and we have to do our best," he said at an event at the U.S.
+ The Board of Peace meeting was convened as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that Trump pushed through last October remains fragile.
− Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, where he met with members of the business community.
+ Palestinian health officials say more than 600 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began, and the next steps of the plan are still unclear.
− On Thursday, updates are expected from the Gaza Executive Board, the operational arm of the board, about its efforts to create a functioning government system and services for the territory, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the broad outlines of the meeting.
+ Trump acknowledged the attacks but said the war was effectively over.
− In addition to Trump, the official said other speakers at the conference would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the executive board's high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and Waltz.
+ "There are little flames," he said, noting that his ceasefire had succeeded in returning dozens of Israeli hostages who had been held by Hamas and other militants inside Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed more than 1,100 people.
− Michael Hanna, U.S.
+ Gaza is split in two at present.
− program director at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit group focused on preventing conflicts, suggested the skepticism some U.S.
+ Israeli forces occupy more than half of the tiny territory, and the population lives in dire conditions in a sliver along the sea, where Hamas governs.
− allies are showing is not unwarranted.
+ Reconstruction funds would not go to the area where Palestinians are currently living but to areas under Israeli military control.
− "Without any clear authorization for the expansion of its mandate beyond Gaza, it is unsurprising that many U.S.
+ A crucial part of the next phase of Trump's ceasefire plan will be the deployment of thousands of international troops to Gaza.
− allies and partners have chosen to decline Trump's offer to join the board," Hanna said.
+ This International Stabilization Force would not police the streets of Gaza, but would be more of a buffer between Israel and Hamas.
− "Instead, many of the states most invested in Gaza's future have signed up with the hope of focusing U.S.
+ Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has said it is ready to send troops. The other key part of the Trump plan hinges on Hamas disarming.
− attention and encouraging Trump himself to use the influence and leverage he has with Israel." Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor
+ That is one of the demands by Israel, the U.S. and several Arab states, who don't want to pour money into Gaza without assurances Hamas no longer rules the territory, which they fear could lead to a resumption of the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas must not only give up heavy weapons like rockets and mortars but also small arms like Kalashnikov rifles, even though Israel is arming rival Palestinian militias that are fighting Hamas in Gaza. And this week, Israel said Hamas has just 60 days to give up all its weapons or Israel would resume full-scale military operations, which would blow up Trump's ceasefire and resume a war that has left Gaza in ruins and killed more than 75,000 people, according to a report by The Lancet, the peer-reviewed medical journal. This is a developing story and will be updated. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor