Trump to Announce Gaza Funding Plan and ISF Details at First Peace Council Meeting
JAKARTA - President Donald Trump will announce plans for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Palestine, worth billions of US dollars and detail the plans for a stabilization force approved by the United Nations for the Palestinian territory at the first formal meeting of its Peace Council next week, two senior US officials said.
Delegations from at least 20 countries, including many heads of state, are expected to attend the meeting in Washington DC, which Trump will lead on February 19, officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity, as reported by Al Arabiya (13/2).
Details of Trump's plans for his first meeting of his Peace Council for Gaza have never been reported before.
Trump signed a document establishing the Peace Council in Davos, Switzerland on January 23. The formation of the council was supported by a UN Security Council resolution as part of the peace plan in Gaza that he initiated.
Although regional powers of the Middle East, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as major developing countries such as Indonesia, have joined the council, global powers and the US' traditional allies are more cautious.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Washington on Wednesday said Israel had joined the council.
Although the council raised concerns about allusions to the UN's role and global conflict resolution, US officials said next week's meeting would focus entirely on Gaza.
They said a central part of the meeting was President Trump's announcement of billions of dollars in funding for Gaza, which will include monetary contributions from participating council members.
An official called the offer "generous" and said the United States had not made an explicit request for a donation.
"People have come to us to offer," the official said.
"The president will make an announcement regarding the money that has been collected," he added.
Regarding the deployment of the International Stabilization Forces (ISF) as part of the peace plan, President Trump will announce which countries will provide troops to be deployed to Gaza in the coming months, US officials said.
The main concern at the moment is disarming the Hamas fighters who are reluctant to hand over their weapons. Under the Trump Gaza plan, Hamas members committed to living in peace and disarming their weapons will be granted amnesty. Hamas members who want to leave Gaza will be given a safe passage to the receiving country, according to the plan.
The Peace Council meeting will also include a detailed report on the work of the National Committee for Gaza Administration, which was formed to take over the day-to-day civilian administration of the Gaza Strip from Hamas.
The committee announced its members and held its first meeting in January.
Other updates will include humanitarian aid for Gaza as well as Gaza's police, officials said.