Trump gathers members of Board of Peace for first meeting, with some US
allies wary of new body
[February 19, 2026]
By AAMER MADHANI and MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will gather Thursday with
representatives from more than two dozen countries that have joined his
Board of Peace — and several that have opted not to — for an inaugural
meeting that will focus on reconstruction and building an international
stabilization force for a war-battered Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire
deal persists.
Trump announced ahead of the meeting that board members have pledged $5
billion for reconstruction, a fraction of the estimated $70 billion
needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of
war. Members are expected to unveil commitments of thousands of
personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the
territory.
“We have the greatest leaders in the world joining the Board of Peace,”
Trump told reporters earlier this week. “I think it has the chance to be
the most consequential board ever assembled of any kind."
The board was initiated as part of Trump's 20-point peace plan to end
the conflict in Gaza. But since the October ceasefire, Trump's vision
for the board has morphed and he wants it to have an even more ambitious
remit — one that will not only complete the Herculean task of bringing
lasting peace between Israel and Hamas but will also help resolve
conflicts around the globe.
But ahead of the board's first gathering, the Gaza ceasefire deal
remains fragile and Trump's expanded vision for it has triggered fears
the U.S. president is looking to create a rival to the United Nations.
Trump earlier this week said he hoped the board would push the U.N. to
“get on the ball.”
“The United Nations has great potential,” he said. “They haven’t lived
up to the potential.”
Some US allies remain skeptical
More than 40 countries and the European Union have confirmed they will
send officials to Thursday’s meeting, according to a senior
administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland are among more than a dozen
countries that have not joined the board but are expected to attend as
observers, the official said.
The U.N. Security Council held a high-level meeting Wednesday on the
ceasefire deal and Israel’s efforts to expand control in the West Bank.
The U.N. session in New York was originally scheduled for Thursday but
was moved up after Trump announced the board’s meeting for the same date
and it became clear that it would complicate travel plans for diplomats
planning to attend both.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters
earlier this week that “at the international level it should above all
be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations.” The Trump
administration on Wednesday pushed back on the Vatican's concerns.
“This president has a very bold and ambitious plan and vision to rebuild
and reconstruct Gaza, which is well underway because of the Board of
Peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “This is a
legitimate organization where there are tens of member countries from
around the world.”
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Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., also pushed back on
skeptical allies, saying the board is “not talking, it is doing.”
“We are hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of
the board, that it’s unconventional, that it’s unprecedented,” Waltz
said. “Again, the old ways were not working.”
Questions about disarming Hamas
Central to Thursday's discussions will be creating an armed
international stabilization force to keep security and ensure the
disarming of the militant Hamas group, a key demand of Israel and a
cornerstone of the ceasefire deal.
But thus far, only Indonesia has offered a firm commitment to Trump
for the proposed force. And Hamas has provided little confidence
that it is willing to move forward on disarmament. The
administration is “under no illusions on the challenges regarding
demilitarization” but has been encouraged by what mediators have
reported back, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized
to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to work closely with
other leading Islamic countries invited by Trump to “join in the
endeavors to try to achieve lasting peace in Palestine.”
“We recognize there are still obstacles to be overcome, but at least
my position is at least we have to try, and we have to do our best,”
he said at an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday,
where he met with members of the business community.
On Thursday, updates are expected from the Gaza Executive Board, the
operational arm of the board, about its efforts to create a
functioning government system and services for the territory,
according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to
preview the broad outlines of the meeting.
In addition to Trump, the official said other speakers at the
conference would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s
special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner,
former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the executive board’s high
representative Nickolay Mladenov, and Waltz.
Michael Hanna, U.S. program director at the International Crisis
Group, a nonprofit group focused on preventing conflicts, suggested
the skepticism some U.S. allies are showing is not unwarranted.
"Without any clear authorization for the expansion of its mandate
beyond Gaza, it is unsurprising that many U.S. allies and partners
have chosen to decline Trump’s offer to join the board," Hanna said.
“Instead, many of the states most invested in Gaza’s future have
signed up with the hope of focusing U.S. attention and encouraging
Trump himself to use the influence and leverage he has with Israel.”
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Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington, Farnoush Amiri at
the United Nations and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed
reporting.
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