President Donald Trump gathered the leaders and foreign ministers of key US allies such as Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Azerbaijan for the inaugural meeting of his peace board on Thursday.
At the meeting in Washington, Trump announced a US commitment of $10 billion to the board and claimed that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait have committed another $7 billion for Gaza relief.
Authorities played a promotional video produced by football governing body FIFA that proclaimed a “new dawn for Gaza” and showed AI-generated images of lush parks, futuristic high-rise buildings and residences with glass balconies.
The peace board was initially conceived to monitor the ceasefire in Gaza, but US officials have suggested it could rival the United Nations, while the White House has promoted it as an answer to decades of conflict in the Middle East.
Yet leaders of former key US allies such as Canada, Britain, France and Australia were absent.
“I want to thank every country that helped us achieve this great feat, saved countless lives and really brought peace and the concept of peace,” Trump said. “We have peace in the Middle East…the war in Gaza is over.”
Trump appointed the board as the collective guarantor of Gaza’s rezoning following a ceasefire in October between Israel and Hamas to end two years of fighting.
But the concept has come under fire for its failure to address critical issues such as widespread exclusion of Palestinians and Israel’s continued occupation, bombing and blockade of Gaza and a clear plan to disarm Hamas.
On the stage of the building formerly known as the US Institute of Peace – which has since been renamed the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace – the president congratulated everyone from the President of Paraguay to his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Tony Blair on their “success”.
With financial pledges, Trump said, Egypt and Jordan will train a future Palestinian police force to secure Gaza. Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have committed to potentially send thousands of troops to help secure Gaza if needed.
“FIFA will help raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza that I think are football related,” Trump said.
The promotional video, the latest in a series of such presentations on Gaza by Trump and his senior officials, showed images that Palestinians say are deeply at odds with the reality on the ground in the strip.
Within the enclave, more than 500 people have died in the four months since the ceasefire, while children sheltering in makeshift tents continue to die from complications of cold and malnutrition.
Hani Almadoun, the Palestinian-American founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, who was not in attendance, said, “It feels surreal to see someone talking about you, but you’re not in the conversation, and they’re making plans.”
The meeting was also symbolic of the new world order that Trump has tried to develop, in which peace, trade and exchange of wealth are interconnected.
Trump spent a 47-minute speech emphasizing the benefits of being on his side, the power of his office — and the risks of ignoring his threats.
The meeting comes as Trump is holding the largest military gathering in the Middle East since the Iraq War and threatening to attack the Iranian regime to force Tehran to make concessions over its nuclear program, its ballistic missiles and its support for regional terrorist groups.
If Iran fails to reach a deal, “bad things will happen,” he said Thursday.
But good things happen to people he likes, he said.
“You know, I have a very good record of supporting candidates within the United States, but now I support foreign leaders,” he said, pointing to Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban sitting on the stage.
Argentina’s President, Javier Milla, sitting nearby, was “a little behind in the polls” until Trump endorsed him, and then “won a landslide,” Trump added.
Major world powers now have the opportunity to participate in “the most prestigious board ever,” Trump said.
“I believe it is the most consequential board. Certainly in terms of power and in terms of prestige, there has never been anyone close.”
On funds channeled through the board, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said the bank would serve as “a limited trustee” for the new Gaza Reconstruction and Development Fund, which will receive donations. Under the direction of the board, the fund “will distribute funds to reconstruction and development projects in Gaza”, Banga said.
Most EU states have declined Trump’s invitation to join the board, where a $1 billion fee ensures lifetime membership.
But Trump suggested that eventually “everybody” would be forced to join in. “You can’t play nice with me,” he said.
Additional reporting by Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv
