The United States pledged $10 billion to a newly formed Council for Peace aimed at resolving international conflicts and rebuilding the Gaza Strip, as announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday. The initiative, intended to foster stability in volatile regions, has already garnered financial commitments from several nations.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait have collectively contributed over $7 billion to the aid package for Gaza, Trump stated. He added that further contributions from other countries are anticipated.
“I am pleased to announce that… we are starting right here, in this room,” Trump said, outlining the Council’s ambition to build a more stable future. He did not specify how the U.S. Financial contribution would be allocated.
According to the Associated Press, the reconstruction of war-damaged Palestinian territories will require approximately $70 billion.
International Forces May Monitor Peace in Gaza
Five nations have committed to providing troops for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) in the Gaza Strip, announced ISF Commander Jasper Jeffers on Thursday. The multinational force, intended to oversee security operations and demilitarization efforts in the Palestinian territory following the conflict between Israel and Hamas, will be comprised of personnel from Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania, Jeffers specified. Egypt and Jordan have also pledged to train police forces.
ISF units will initially be deployed to Rafah in southern Gaza, beginning with police training, and will then proceed “sector by sector,” Jeffers explained. The long-term plan is to deploy 20,000 ISF troops and train 12,000 police officers.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stated on Thursday that his country would provide 8,000 or more troops to the international force for Gaza.
Details Remain Limited, According to Correspondent
CT24’s U.S. Correspondent Václav Černohorský described Trump’s address as typical, noting it was “long and branching… with few concrete details.”
“There are a number of question marks hanging over the practical implementation of these things,” he said, referring to the potential participation of international forces. CT24’s Middle East correspondent David Borek added that the precise composition of these forces from individual states is a critical question.
“Whether they send soldiers or rather police or border units, and above all, there is the bigger question – what will their mandate be?” Borek pointed out, suggesting potential roles ranging from border security and aid distribution to eliminating Hamas as a military force.
Černohorský noted that the $7 billion in aid for Gaza represents a fraction of the estimated reconstruction costs. He emphasized the require for greater contributions, particularly from wealthy regional states, contingent on a clear path toward a lasting ceasefire. “And that is certainly not clear at the moment,” he said.
“A Beautiful Show”
Political and cultural geographer Vladimír Baar commented that the event was “a beautiful theatrical performance full of optimism and how everything is great.” He likened it to “the old communist times… Communists and the Soviet Union also always talked about peace, about how they wanted peace and how they would achieve it if everyone was decent. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. We know that those who don’t want peace aren’t there,” referring to groups like Hamas.
Baar argued that a fundamental step – the disarmament of Hamas – has not been taken. “I don’t think Trump is doing well by expanding his portfolio to the whole world, because everything will depend on how he manages to achieve peace in the Middle East,” the expert said. He also struggled to envision Indonesian troops entering Gaza.
“If Hamas is armed there, then I don’t think anyone will enter, so the whole organization will face a similar problem to the UN – who will enforce what those members would like? That will be the alpha and omega of its existence,” Baar concluded.
The Council for Peace, which aims to address other conflicts in addition to Gaza, has so far been joined by 27 countries. The founding document was signed in January in Davos, Switzerland, by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Argentinian President Javier Milei, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, among others.
Israel, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates are also members. Of the European Union countries, only Hungary and Bulgaria will participate, while others, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Italy, will be observers.
Trump to Decide on Iran Within Ten Days
Trump also mentioned ongoing “good” talks with Tehran in his extensive remarks, reiterating that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons. He warned that failure to reach an agreement would have dire consequences.
The United States has significantly increased its military and air presence in the region in recent days, and Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with military action if it does not abandon its nuclear ambitions and uranium enrichment. Iran maintains that its nuclear program serves exclusively peaceful purposes.
“We are having good conversations. Over the years, it has been shown that it is not easy to reach a meaningful agreement with Iran. We must reach a meaningful agreement, otherwise bad things will happen,” Trump said. “We may have to head further, maybe not, maybe we will reach an agreement. You will probably know that within the next ten days,” he added.
Trump invited approximately sixty countries to join the organization, which he intends to chair and, according to critics, create a competitor to the UN. Reuters previously reported that Trump is to become the first and lifetime chairman of the council and decide which countries will be admitted. According to a draft charter, a membership fee of $1 billion would be required for permanent membership, while three-year free membership is offered.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš previously said that the Czech Republic is not currently considering joining. He wants to wait for the positions of allies in the EU and NATO. Parliament and the Senate would decide on any entry, which would be complicated. According to President Petr Pavel, the country should respond to the whole matter only after the conditions and possible powers of the council are known. No one has yet seen the statute or mandate of the council, almost nothing is known about it.
The White House has already announced that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will serve on the Council for Peace. The body is to oversee the activities of a committee composed of Palestinian technocrats, which will temporarily administer Gaza, replacing Hamas. According to Reuters, the scope of the Council for Peace is to be gradually expanded beyond Gaza.
American officials have previously indicated that the new entity is not intended to completely replace the UN. One official suggested that the plan could rather encourage the world organization to take action.
