The pledges are expected to be formally announced on Thursday, when more than 20 board members are due to gather in Washington for their inaugural meeting, Trump said in a social media post.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential international body in history, and it is my honor to serve as its chairman,” he wrote on Sunday.
Trump confirmed the meeting will be held at the US Institute of Peace, which the State Department announced in December it was renaming the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace.
Trump did not specify which countries are behind the USD 5 billion in reconstruction money or which will contribute troops.
Indonesia’s military said on Sunday that up to 8,000 of its troops are expected to be ready by the end of June for a potential deployment to Gaza as part of a humanitarian and peace mission, the first firm commitment publicly acknowledged.
With much of the territory damaged or destroyed after more than two years of Israeli bombardment, the United Nations, World Bank and European Union estimate reconstruction costs of Gaza at about USD 70 billion.
The October 10 US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas calls for an armed international stabilization force to secure Gaza and oversee the disarming of Hamas, a central Israeli demand.
So far, few countries have signaled willingness to join such a force.
It is unclear how many Board of Peace members will attend Thursday’s session.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Trump at the White House last week, is not expected to take part.
Several of Washington’s closest allies in Europe and other regions have declined to join, viewing the board as a potential rival to the UN Security Council.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP, Euronews, PBS