The United States will contribute ten billion dollars (approximately 206 billion crowns) to the Peace Council, which is tasked with resolving international conflicts and restoring the Gaza Strip. US President Donald Trump stated this at the first meeting of this organization on Thursday. According to him, other countries also contributed. Trump also addressed tensions with Iran, saying he was giving himself ten days to decide whether a meaningful deal could be reached with Iran over its nuclear program. Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) also participated in the meeting as an observer.
“I am pleased to announce that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait have contributed more than seven billion dollars (about 144 billion crowns) to the (Gaza) aid package,” Trump said, adding that he expects contributions from other countries as well.
“The Peace Council shows how we can build a better future, and we start right here, in this room,” the US president said in his speech. However, he did not specify which area of operation of the newly established Peace Council the financial contribution of the United States will be aimed at.
Trump added that the International Football Federation (FIFA) has promised more than 75 million dollars (about 1.5 billion crowns) to support projects in the Gaza Strip that will be related to football. The United Nations (UN) is to contribute two billion dollars (approximately 41.2 billion crowns) to humanitarian aid.
According to the AP agency, approximately 70 billion dollars (about 1.4 trillion crowns) will be needed to restore the war-torn Palestinian territory.
The soldiers of Indonesia or Albania are supposed to oversee the peace in Gaza
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At the same time, five countries have so far pledged to send their soldiers to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for the Gaza Strip, ISF commander Jasper Jeffers also announced on Thursday. Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania will provide troops for the multinational force to conduct security operations and lead efforts to demilitarize the Palestinian territory after the war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Jeffers said. According to him, two countries have committed to train police officers – Egypt and Jordan.
ISF units will first be deployed in Rafah in the southern Strip, where they will begin training police officers, and then move forward “sector by sector,” Jeffers said. The long-term plan is to deploy twenty thousand ISF soldiers in the region and train twelve thousand police officers, he added.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto also said on Thursday that his country would contribute eight thousand or more troops to the international force for Gaza.
Reporter: Few concrete things were said
CT reporter in the USA Václav Černohorský said about Trump’s speech that it was his typical speech. “It was long, branching. (…) Few concrete things were said,” the reporter said.
“However, a number of question marks hang over the practical implementation of these things,” he pointed out, referring to the possible participation of international forces. In this connection, CT Middle East correspondent David Borek pointed out that it is a fundamental question what the exact composition of these forces will be from the individual states.
“If they send soldiers, or rather police or border units. And above all that there is an even bigger question – what will their mandate be,” he pointed out, adding that it could be border guards or auxiliary forces for food distribution, or even units that will aim to eliminate Hamas as a military force.
Referring to the aid to Gaza in the amount of seven billion dollars, Černohorský pointed out that, according to a number of estimates, this is a fraction of what the Gaza Strip now needs for its reconstruction. In order for the money to be more, according to the reporter, it is essential that, for example, the rich states in the region see that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has some perspective. “And that’s certainly not clear at this point,” he pointed out.
Baar: “A Beautiful Theatrical Performance”
Political and cultural geographer Vladimír Baar noted that it was a “beautiful theatrical performance full of optimism and how great everything is”. “It reminded me to a great extent of the old communist times. The communists and the Soviet Union also always talked about peace, how they wanted peace and how they would achieve it if everyone was good. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. We know that those who do not want peace are not there (in the Peace Council), “said Baar, noting that these are, for example, numerous non-governmental communities – such as Hamas.
According to Baar, even the most basic thing, such as the disarmament of Hamas, has not happened in the Middle East. “I don’t think that Trump is doing well when he expands his portfolio to the whole world, because everything will depend on how he succeeds in achieving peace in the Middle East,” says the expert. He pointed out that he also cannot imagine that the soldiers promised as part of the stabilization forces by, for example, the already mentioned Indonesia, will enter Gaza.
“If Hamas is armed there, I don’t think anyone will enter there, so the whole organization will face a problem similar to the UN – who will enforce what the members would like? That will be the alpha and omega of its entire existence,” added the political and cultural geographer.
So far, 27 countries have joined the Peace Council, which is supposed to focus on solving other conflicts in addition to Gaza. The founding document was signed in January in Davos, Switzerland, among others by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Argentine President Javier Milei and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Other members include, for example, Israel, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Of the countries of the European Union, only Hungary and Bulgaria will sit in it. Others, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy, will be in the role of observers for the time being.
It is said that Trump will make a decision about Iran within ten days
In a comprehensive speech, Trump also mentioned the current “good” talks with Tehran, but reiterated that Iran must not possess a nuclear weapon. If there is no agreement, it will be bad, warned the head of the White House.
The United States has significantly increased its military and air power in the Middle East in recent days, and Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with a military strike if it does not give up its nuclear ambitions and uranium enrichment. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
“We’re having good conversations. It’s become clear over the years that it’s not easy to get a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to get one or bad things will happen,” Trump warned. “Maybe we’ll have to go a little further, maybe not, maybe we’ll make a deal. You’ll probably find out in the next ten days,” he added.
Billions for permanent membership
Trump sent an invitation to the organization that he will chair and that, according to critics, he wants to create as a competitor to the United Nations, to about sixty countries. Reuters previously reported that Trump is to become the council’s first and lifetime chairman and decide which countries will be invited to join. According to the draft charter, a fee of one billion dollars (almost 21 billion crowns) should be collected for permanent membership, while membership for three years is offered free of charge.
AP writes that 27 countries joined the Peace Council at the meeting, in total representatives of more than 50 states participated. For example, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama or Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan were in Washington. Among others, representatives of Slovakia and Italy participated in the role of observers, the Czech Republic was represented in this position by Minister Macinka.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has already said that the Czech Republic is not considering joining now. He wants to wait for the attitudes of the allies in the EU and NATO. The House of Representatives and the Senate would decide on possible entry, it would be difficult, the Prime Minister said. According to President Petr Pavle, the country should comment on the whole matter only according to the conditions and possible powers of the council. No one has yet seen the council’s statute or mandate, almost nothing is known about it, he added.
The White House has already announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, son-in-law of the US President Jared Kushner and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will sit in the Peace Council. The body is supposed to control the activities of a committee made up of Palestinian technocrats that will temporarily administer Gaza, where it is supposed to replace Hamas. According to the Reuters agency, the scope of the Peace Council should gradually expand beyond Gaza.
US officials have previously said that the new entity is not intended to completely replace the UN. One of the officials, according to the AP, suggested that the plan could rather spur the world organization into action.
