Donald Trump announced contributions to the Gaza Reconstruction Fund at the Peace Council’s first meeting.
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President Donald Trump said at the Peace Council’s first meeting that nine member states committed $7 billion to the Gaza Strip reconstruction fund and five countries agreed to send troops to the International Stabilization Force in the Palestinian territories.
Addressing the Council in Washington DC on Thursday, the US President said the US would contribute $10 billion to the Peace Council, but did not say how the money would be used.
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President Trump said Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait have raised the initial down payment to rebuild Gaza.
“Every dollar spent is an investment in stability and hope for a new and harmonious (region),” President Trump said. He added: “The Peace Commission is showing us in this room how to build a better future.”
The promised funds, while large, are only a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territories destroyed after more than two years of genocidal war by Israel.
Proposed stabilizing force
Meanwhile, Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged to send troops to the Gaza Stabilization Force as part of President Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza. Egypt and Jordan are working on training their police officers.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that his country would contribute up to 8,000 troops to the proposed force “to make this peace work.”
The force, led by a U.S. general and an Indonesian lieutenant, will start in the Israeli-controlled city of Rafah to train a new police force that will eventually aim to grow to 12,000 police officers and 20,000 troops.
Disarmament of Hamas was part of President Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, but Hamas is reluctant to hand over its weapons as Israel continues to carry out daily attacks on Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said international forces must “monitor the ceasefire and prevent the[Israeli]occupation from continuing its aggression.” He said it was possible to discuss disarmament without directly committing to it.
President Trump first proposed establishing the board last September as part of his plan to end the war. But since the October “ceasefire,” President Trump’s vision for the council has changed, and he wants to give it even more ambitious powers to tackle other conflicts around the world.
The board has faced criticism for including Israeli representatives but no Palestinians.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said Palestinians want concrete solutions rather than promises.
“Previous experiences with conferences, reconstruction and peace processes have all resulted in large financial demands, delays and non-implementation of (plans),” he said.
“Palestinians don’t want to see something like this again. They don’t want the peace commission to be seen as another international body that falls under the umbrella of crisis management, rather than finding concrete solutions to this long-standing problem of Palestine,” Mahmoud pointed out.
More than 40 countries and the European Union confirmed they would send officials to Thursday’s meeting. Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are among more than a dozen countries participating as observers, although they are not on the board.
