MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump is convening the first-ever meeting of the Board of Peace today in Washington, D.C.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Trump says the group was initiated to oversee plans to end the conflict in Gaza. He says member states have already pledged $5 billion for Gaza reconstruction. In a few moments, we'll speak with former Middle East peace adviser Aaron David Miller. First, here's the latest information.
MARTIN: Joining us to tell us more about today's meeting and the hurdles ahead for Gaza is NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy. She's in Dubai. Good morning, Aya.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So remind us of what this Board of Peace is about and who is expected to attend this meeting today.
BATRAWY: Sure. So the Board of Peace is chaired by Trump, and the group was formally established only last month, and so this is their first meeting. Now, Trump will be addressing a roomful of heads of states and top diplomats from around 40 countries, including also the European Union. The meeting will have dignitaries from Argentina and Hungary to places like India and Vietnam. Meanwhile, France and the U.K., which have not joined the board out of concerns that Russia could be a part of this new group, will be sending observers to this meeting today. However, Israel and Arab states are part of this board, and they too will be at the meeting, but there are no Palestinians on the Board of Peace. Now, the event is being held at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington, and some fear that Trump's Board of Peace could be used to undermine the United Nations. Actually, a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza was moved a day earlier in order to accommodate diplomats being able to attend both meetings.
MARTIN: And as you mentioned, this board was first created to oversee Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza. So where does the ceasefire stand now?
BATRAWY: So the ceasefire that Trump pushed through last October is shaky. Palestinian health officials say more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks in these four months of ceasefire. And the next steps of the ceasefire plan are still unclear, and that's why this meeting today is significant, Michel. Countries are expected to be making some big tangible pledges. Trump has talked about $5 billion in pledges toward reconstruction. We could hear which countries made those initial pledges today, but that $5 billion is a fraction of what's needed, and it would be going toward the Trump administration's vision for a new Gaza in areas still under Israeli military control. You know, Gaza right now is split in two. Israeli forces occupy more than half of this tiny territory, and some 2 million Palestinians are living in dire conditions in a sliver along the sea where Hamas still governs. And so reconstruction funds would not be going to those areas where Palestinians are living, and Israel still tightly controls the borders of what can come in regarding reconstruction materials and aid.
MARTIN: So given everything you've just told us, Aya, how might this Board of Peace actually ensure progress?
BATRAWY: All right. So a crucial part of this next phase of Trump's ceasefire plan is the deployment of thousands of international troops to Gaza. This international stabilization force would not be policing the streets of Gaza, but it would be more of a buffer between Israel and Hamas to try to keep the peace and monitor violations of the ceasefire. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, says it's ready to send troops. And we could hear similar commitments at today's meeting from other countries, but Israel does not want to give up control of Gaza, and it has objected, for example, to Turkey's offer to send troops, and that's also delayed Egypt signing up as well and saying that they would go in.
So the other key part of the plan also hinges on Hamas disarming. Now, this is a key demand by Israel as well as the United States and several Arab countries who don't want to pour money into Gaza without assurances that Hamas no longer rules and a war won't resume. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a couple of days ago, said Hamas must not only give up heavy weapons like rockets and mortars, but also small arms like Kalashnikov rifles. He's insisting on this, even as Israel is arming rival Palestinian militias and clans that are fighting Hamas in Gaza. And this week, Israel said Hamas has just 60 days to give up all its weapons or Israel will resume full military operations, which obviously would blow up Trump's ceasefire and resume a war that has decimated Gaza and killed entire families there. So, Michel, there's a lot to discuss at this meeting and a lot of riding on this first meeting of Trump's Board of Peace.
MARTIN: Yeah. So much to keep track of. That is NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Aya, thank you.
BATRAWY: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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