Trump says Board of Peace members pledge $6b for Gaza, calls for ‘full and immediate’ disarmament of Hamas
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Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of the Al-Zaitun neighborhood of Gaza City, on Feb 12, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
PHOTO: EPA
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - US President Donald Trump on Feb 15 urged Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for postwar Gaza, and said members of his so-called “Board of Peace”
“Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarisation,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a Feb 19 meeting of the board in Washington.
Disarmament is a key part in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire plan sealed in October between Israel and the Palestinian militant group to end the war triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023.
The United Nations endorsed the plan in November.
The second phase stipulates that Israeli forces gradually withdraw from Gaza and Hamas should disarm, with an international stabilisation force deployed to ensure security.
Hamas has repeatedly said that disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Both sides accuse each other daily of ceasefire violations.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the charter for the “Board of Peace” does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
“The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” Mr Trump said on Feb 15 in his post.
After an initial meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum
Countries have been asked to pay US$1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Mr Trump said the US$5 billion in pledges by member states would be formally announced then, and that members also “have committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and Local Police to maintain Security and Peace for Gazans.”
Mr Trump has said the organisation will work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History,” he said.
Under the ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic committee has also been set up with a goal of taking over governance in the battered Gaza Strip. AFP
