Hundreds of thousands of new homes. A completely rebuilt city of Rafah. A futuristic “Abrahamic Gateway” linking Egypt to Israel and the broader Middle East.
President Trump’s vision for the war-torn Gaza Strip took shape Thursday at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, a multinational coalition focusing on harmony in the Middle East and seen as a kind of shadow United Nations.
Leaders from dozens of countries looked on as a video showed ambitious plans to turn Gaza into a Riviera of the Middle East. The 20-point plan is supposed to rebuild cities, return children to school, curb unemployment and build modern highways that zip through Gaza.
“We cannot change the past, but I think that what you’re seeing today is that we can potentially change the future if we focus and do this in the right way,” said Jared Kushner, who is Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and a key adviser on the Gaza rebuild.
“The war was a horrific, horrific situation,” he said. “We are here to help the people of Gaza, to lift them up and give them every opportunity to succeed.”
Mr. Trump and his Board of Peace are trying to rebuild Gaza after Israel bombarded the strip of land in retaliation for terrorist attacks on the country in October 2023.
The administration blames the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controlled Gaza and launched the terrorist raids, for the resulting destruction. Critics say Israel went overboard and effectively destroyed Gaza, and committed genocide against its people.
The meeting Thursday drew officials from more than 40 countries, underscoring the seriousness of the multinational effort to restore normalcy in Gaza.
The project will require money, however, with some estimates as high as $70 billion.
Mr. Trump said the U.S. would contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace, which is focused on the Gaza project but might address other global issues down the road.
“The war in Gaza is over, it’s over,” Mr. Trump said. “There are little flames, little flames.”
He said Hamas would be “harshly met” if it did not give up its weapons. In a sign of progress, representatives from the region said 2,000 people have signed up to serve as security officers during the Gaza rebuild.
Mr. Trump said nine countries — Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait — would contribute $7 billion toward the effort.
“There’s nothing more important than peace, and there’s nothing more expensive than peace,” Mr. Trump said.
Some people are skeptical of Mr. Trump’s motives.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators greeted Mr. Trump’s motorcade with big signs that said: “Donald Trump, go to hell.” Some protesters shouted, “Board of Peace, Board of Lies!”
Mr. Trump struck a positive tone in lengthy remarks at the start of the meeting. He said peace in the Middle East is at hand after decades of strife.
“The people are so incredible,” Mr. Trump said. “We want to have a harmonious Middle East.”
Mr. Trump said the main sticking point in the Middle East is dealing with Islamic leaders in Tehran.
“We have peace in the Middle East, think of it,” Mr. Trump said. “We do have some work to do with Iran. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
U.S. and Iranian negotiators are working on a deal that limits Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, though the sides remain far apart.
Mr. Trump has threatened military strikes on Iran if it doesn’t reach an agreement.
“They must make a deal,” Mr. Trump said. “Bad things will happen if [Iran] doesn’t.”
Mr. Trump serves as chairman of the Board of Peace, making it a Trump-centric endeavor. Even the Washington venue for the meeting, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, was recently named in his honor.
Some Western allies have resisted the effort. They said it will upset the established order that flows through the United Nations. The Vatican said Wednesday that it would not join the board, citing potential conflicts with the U.N. mission.
Mr. Trump said the board will gain popularity and that some countries are watching from afar on Zoom.
“I believe it’s the most consequential board, certainly in terms of power and in terms of prestige. There’s never been anything close,” Mr. Trump said. “Some [nations are] playing a little cute.”
Canada expressed interest in the body, only for Mr. Trump to disinvite the northern neighbor after Prime Minister Mark Carney rebuked Mr. Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Mr. Trump hosted a charter-signing event for the Board of Peace in Davos, setting the stage for the meeting in Washington.
In meandering remarks, Mr. Trump boasted about his foreign endorsements. He said he helped lift Argentine President Javier Milei in a recent election and that his backing should help Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
In other news, Mr. Trump said Norway plans to host a Board of Peace meeting. The president said it would have been better if Norway had announced that it was awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I’m saying, ‘Oh great, I’m getting the Nobel Prize. Finally, they got it right,’” Mr. Trump said. “But I don’t care.”
Mr. Trump has fixated on the Nobel Peace Prize and says the Norwegian government should have awarded it to him.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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