The White House is planning a leaders meeting for the Gaza "Board of Peace" on Feb. 19, according to a U.S. official and diplomats from four countries who are on the board.
Why it matters: The White House wants to use the meeting to push forward the implementation of the second phase if the Gaza ceasefire deal and raise money for reconstruction.
- "It will be the first Board of Peace meeting and a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction," a U.S. official said.
- The plans for the summit meeting are in early stages and could still change. The White House declined to comment.
Between the lines: The unveiling of the board last month was met with widespread skepticism.
- Most Western allies didn't join, in part because the charter gives the board a broad mandate and Trump sole the veto over its decisions.
- Some allies felt Trump was trying to set up an alternative UN Security Council.
State of play: The board currently has 27 members and is chaired by Trump. The UN Security Council authorized it to oversee the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and work on governance and reconstruction.
Behind the scenes: The Trump administration started reaching out to dozens of countries on Friday to invite their leaders and discuss logistics.
- They plan to hold the meeting at the Institute of Peace, which Trump recently rebranded in his own honor.
- "Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the administration is planning it and has started checking which leaders are able to attend," one source said.
What to watch: Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on February 18, a day before the planned gathering.
- Netanyahu has accepted Trump's invitation for Israel to join the board, but still hasn't signed the charter.
- If Netanyahu participates at the Board of Peace meeting, it will be his first public meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders since before the Oct. 7 attacks and the war in Gaza.
State of play: While the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement has started it is moving very slowly.
- Israel agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, but only a very small number of Palestinians have been allowed through.
- A Palestinian technocratic government has been established, but still hasn't entered Gaza and is working from Egypt.
- The Trump administration and the other mediators — Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — are in the early stages of trying to reach a demilitarization agreement with Hamas.
- Israel has said that without demilitarization, it will not withdraw its forces from Gaza or allow reconstruction.
Zoom in: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said at a Security Council meeting last week that the U.S. wants to launch an "agreed process of decommissioning of weapons."
- "All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon-production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt," he said.
- Waltz added that "independent international monitors" will supervise the demilitarization process and that there will be an internationally funded program to "buy back" weapons from Hamas members. Some former Hamas members will be invited to integrate into new government security forces.
Yes, but: Netanyahu, who is very skeptical about the U.S. plan for Gaza, claims Trump committed in their last meeting that Hamas would only have 60 days to disarm, after which Israel could resume the war.
- U.S. officials deny that and contend the demilitarization process will take much longer. Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner laid out a 100-day in Davos a 100-day plan for that only included initial demilitarization.
