WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will preside over the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday with unresolved questions on the future of Gaza hanging over an event expected to include representatives from more than 45 nations.
The disarmament of Hamas militants, 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.
Trump is to address the group at the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace — a building in Washington the president recently renamed for himself — and announce that participating nations have raised $5 billion for the reconstruction fund.
The money is expected to be a down payment on a fund that will likely need many more billions. Included in the $5 billion is expected to be $1.2 billion each from two of Washington’s Gulf Arab allies, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, a US official told Reuters.
Trump’s Board of Peace has been controversial. It includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives and Trump’s suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the UN’s role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.
