Plans for Transitional Governance and ISF
to Be Announced at First Peace Committee Meeting on 19th
U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be accelerating the implementation of his Gaza Strip peace plan between Israel and Hamas, which he brokered.
On the 15th (local time), President Trump announced on the social media platform Truth Social that countries participating in the Gaza Strip Peace Committee had pledged to provide more than 5 billion dollars (about 7.2 trillion won) in humanitarian aid and reconstruction funds. He added that the participating countries had also agreed to provide several thousand personnel for the International Stabilization Force (ISF), which will maintain security and peace in the Gaza Strip, as well as for local police. President Trump explained that these details are scheduled to be announced at the first meeting of the Peace Committee to be held in Washington, D.C., on the 19th.
The operation of the Peace Committee and the establishment of the ISF constitute the second phase of the Gaza Strip peace initiative proposed by President Trump, which Israel and Hamas agreed to in October last year, bringing an end to two years of war. The Peace Committee will oversee the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic executive body responsible for day-to-day public services and administration until reconstruction of the Gaza Strip is complete, and will in effect serve as the top decision-making body for transitional governance. Launched in January, the Peace Committee is led by President Trump as chair and currently involves more than 20 countries.
However, key allies are reacting skeptically due to concerns that President Trump may seek to expand the role of the Peace Committee beyond the Gaza Strip to other international conflicts, thereby undermining the status of the United Nations. At present, many Western countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, have either declined to participate or expressed negative views, while South Korea is reviewing whether to join. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey, Israel, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Paraguay, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Kosovo, among others, have expressed their intention to participate.
Although no country has yet officially announced its contribution plan, the New York Times (NYT) reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States have each agreed to provide more than 1 billion dollars to the Peace Committee. The 5 billion dollars mentioned by President Trump is insufficient for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
The World Bank, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations estimated in a report they jointly released in February last year that more than 50 billion dollars would be needed for the full recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
At this first Peace Committee meeting, President Trump is also expected to announce the countries that will participate in the ISF and the size of their troop contributions. The ISF is a multinational force tasked with training and supporting local police to prevent any security or law-and-order vacuum in the Gaza Strip and with ensuring safety in the border areas. However, it remains unclear whether the second phase of the peace initiative will proceed smoothly as President Trump hopes, since the disarmament of Hamas, which must precede the deployment of the ISF and the effective operation of the Peace Committee, has not yet taken place.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
