Without the presence of many of the United States’ traditional allies, but with great fanfare and much praise for himself, Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday led the first meeting of what he claims is to rebuild a Palestinian strip destroyed by Israeli bombing. At the event, Trump assured that the countries participating in the new entity, which arises from the ceasefire agreement, have already contributed 7 billion dollars [unos 5.950 millones de euros] for reconstruction in Gaza. , advertisement.
The meeting at the Trump Institute of United States for Peace – until last year, home of a think tank public that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ordered closed – launched a project with which the US president wants to show off as a world peacemaker, but which has set off alarms among many of Washington’s traditional allies for . The Republican’s speech wanted to send a message of calm in this regard, but it has only contributed to encouraging those doubts.
“We are going to collaborate with the United Nations very closely… I think the United Nations has great potential,” he noted, immediately qualifying: “The Peace Board is going to be almost supervising the UN and making sure that it works properly.”
The president, however, had good words for the international organization based in New York: “We are going to strengthen the United Nations, make sure that their facilities are adequate. They need economic help and we are going to give it to them. We are going to make sure that the UN remains viable.” Precisely, one of the reasons why the multilateral institution is experiencing economic problems is the lack of payment by the United States, which has pending disbursements worth 4 billion dollars.
at the call of the president. But many of those who participated did so as observers – and part of their member states – or at a very low level. Many Western countries had already rejected the invitation to join the new entity, precisely due to concern about Trump’s suggestions that it may try to compete with the UN as a forum to solve global problems. Among the Europeans, only Bulgaria and Hungary participate directly, represented by their prime minister,
Absent from the meeting were traditional allies of the United States such as Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Japan. Partners dependent on Washington or countries that try to curry favor with Trump did participate. Among those attending were Argentina, Paraguay, the monarchies of the Persian Gulf and Asian countries, although not Russia or China.
Israel, through its Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, diverted the focus to what is a priority for his country and demanded the disarmament of Hamas, one of the points included in the ceasefire agreement; The fundamentalist militia refuses to hand over its weapons as long as there is no Palestinian State. “It is necessary to dismantle Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure, its underground tunnels and weapons production facilities, and end the indoctrination of Palestinian children in educational and religious institutions,” he said.
In his usual hyperbolic tone, the American president downplayed these absences: “This is the most relevant Junta, certainly, in terms of power and prestige. There has never been anything similar, because these [los presentes] They are the most important leaders in the world. Almost everyone is accepted, and those who have not joined will end up joining.”
In his speech, Trump, who a year ago spoke of turning the Strip into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” promised that the United States will contribute $10 billion to the Peace Board fund to recover Gaza.
“It is a small amount for peace,” said the Republican, who flirts with the possibility of. Regarding the amount that he claims his country will contribute, he has not specified where these funds will come from or whether Congress, which is responsible for approving public spending, has given its approval. This is no small matter, given that Trump chairs the Board and oversees its budgets.
According to the president, the member countries of this forum have already contributed 7 billion dollars for the reconstruction of the Strip. An amount very far from what is necessary to put the Palestinian territory on its feet after two years of devastation: international calculations speak of ten times more, up to 70 billion dollars.
Trump has also announced a contribution of 75 million dollars that will be allocated mainly to projects related to football and that will be contributed by the International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, the American’s favorite organization. The UN will also provide $2 billion for humanitarian aid, according to the president. Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan “have promised troops and police to stabilize Gaza,” he indicated.
In addition, Egypt and Jordan “will also provide very substantial aid, soldiers, training and support for a very reliable Palestinian police force,” he added. He did not provide figures for the military or police or when or where they will be deployed.
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Donald Trump’s Peace Board
The specter of a possible new war, despite the fact that the United States and Iran are holding indirect talks and the Islamic Republic has agreed to present a substantial proposal to bring positions closer together in the coming days, was one of the protagonists of the meeting, despite the fact that the meeting focused on Gaza. Trump himself has encouraged uncertainty in his speech, flirting with the possibility of an attack against Iran: “They will find out in ten days.”
When Trump announced the creation of his forum last year, within the framework of the ceasefire in Gaza, the Peace Board was emerging as a supervisory body, with colonial echoes, that would monitor compliance with the conditions for the end of the attacks. But the president himself was introducing new details that transform the entity less into a managing body of an international agreement and more into a forum created to suit him. Trump has the right to veto members, decides the time and place of meetings and when votes are held. Its founding document, presented at the Davos forum in January, does not even mention Gaza directly.
