WASHINGTON: The White House is preparing to convene the inaugural leaders’ meeting of President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” on Gaza on February 19 in Washington, Axios reported on Friday, citing a U.S. official and diplomats from four participating countries.
According to the report, the meeting — also expected to function as a fundraising conference for Gaza’s reconstruction — remains in preliminary planning stages and details could still change. The event is set to take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. It comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on February 18.
Neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department responded to requests for comment on the planned gathering. Trump announced the creation of the Board of Peace in late January, saying it would be chaired by him and aimed at addressing global conflicts. The move drew concern from many analysts who warned it could sideline the United Nations’ role in international peacekeeping.
International reactions have been mixed. While several U.S. partners in the Middle East have agreed to participate, many traditional Western allies have so far refrained from joining. A UN Security Council resolution passed in mid-November authorised the board and cooperating countries to set up an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump-brokered framework accepted by both Israel and Hamas.
Trump’s original Gaza proposal envisioned the board overseeing temporary governance in the territory, later expanding its mandate to broader global conflict resolution. However, human rights experts have criticised the idea as resembling colonial administration, particularly noting the absence of Palestinian representation on the board.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly breached, with more than 550 Palestinians killed since it took effect in October.Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since late 2023 has resulted in over 71,000 Palestinian deaths, a severe food crisis, and the displacement of the entire population of Gaza.
