Trump Set To Name Gaza ‘Board Of Peace’ To Advance Rocky Truce
The unveiling of the Board of Peace is meant to set in motion other stages like the appointment of Palestinian technocrats for an alternative Gaza government.
(Photographer: Ahmad Salem/ Bloomberg)
US President Donald Trump is expected this week to name global leaders for a “Board of Peace” to administer his ambitious post-war plan for Gaza, officials say, even as a standoff between Israel and Hamas raised doubts about the prospects for success.
Made up mainly of fellow heads of government or state and chaired by Trump, the board is designed to drive the transformation of the shattered Palestinian enclave as outlined by Trump’s 20-point plan. The intention is to help form an interim government to replace Hamas and to attract a foreign security force as well as funds.
Who will be on the board is unclear. Only the chief executive officer — Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov — has been identified ahead of Trump’s announcement, which several US and Israeli officials predicted would take place this week.
Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has negotiated with Hamas on behalf of Trump, put out a statement addressed to the people of Gaza Saturday, saying: “It is expected that the Board of Peace for Gaza will be announced during the coming week, with its first official meeting to be held on the sidelines of the Davos meetings in the third week of this month.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Trump plan and its first-phase ceasefire, which freed the last living hostages from Gaza captivity and left his troops in control of more than half of the territory. But he has signaled concern that Hamas’ surviving gunmen could be left in charge of the rest amid Western impatience to start rebuilding.
Hosting Mladenov last week, Netanyahu “reiterated that Hamas must be disarmed and the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized in accordance with the 20-point plan,” according to an Israeli statement. Hamas says that it would only consider surrendering its guns to a future Palestinian government that’s free of foreign supervision.
The Trump administration is counseling patience — and a flexible time line.
“Hamas can’t continue to postpone disarming,” Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Jerusalem, told Israel’s Kan TV Thursday. “They’re not going to have a future there. The president has said this from the very beginning.”
But he added: “There is a sequence of things that have to happen,” nothing that “as different points of the peace plan can be implemented, they will be.”
The unveiling of the Board of Peace is meant to set in motion other stages like the appointment of Palestinian technocrats for an alternative Gaza government. Bahbah said in his statement that Palestinian factions are expected to meet next week in Cairo to announce the names. Eventually, as-yet unlisted contributor countries are due to provide troops for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that will provide interim security.
If Hamas lays down its weapons, the ISF would be there to collect them. Still, few negotiators believe the ISF would be willing or able to force Hamas to yield its arms.
Eli Cohen, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said Israel should give the ISF “a few months” grace period before sending tanks and troops back against Hamas.
“We would have to take over all of the territory, and to dismantle all of the (Hamas) infrastructure,” Cohen told Kol Barama radio.
Since the truce was put in place, it has repeatedly been tested. More than 400 Palestinians have been killed in air strikes that Israel said it launched to retaliate for or to preempt attacks by Hamas. Three Israeli soldiers have died in Palestinian ambushes.
Hamas, blaming the difficulty of searching the Gaza ruins, has also failed to hand over the remains of the last slain hostage, as required by the truce’s terms. A poll aired on Israel’s Channel 12 found that 57% of the public would oppose moving to the second phase of the Trump plan as long as the body isn’t recovered, compared with 22% in favor.
The limbo over the hostage and Hamas’ defiance pose challenges for Netanyahu, who is seeking to remain in office after an election required by October. Polls forecast a tight race.
According to a senior Netanyahu aide, the prime minister wants processes for the demilitarization of the entire territory to be agreed and under way when the voting occurs. Given that clearing unspent ordnance is expected take two years, and demolishing all Hamas tunnels even longer, most Israelis will accept this version of winning, said the aide, who requested anonymity to discuss Netanyahu’s thinking.
