WASHINGTON: The White House has proposed that the first meeting for President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” in relation to Gaza be held on Feb 19, Axios reported on Friday, citing a US official and diplomats from four countries that are on the board.

The plans for the meeting, which would also be a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction, are in early stages and could still change, Axios reported.

The White House plans to hold the meeting at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, the report added. It noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Feb 18, a day before the planned meeting.

The US president, who launched the board late last month, will chair the body which he says will aim to resolve global conflicts, leading to many experts being concerned that such a board could undermine the United Nations.

Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation to join that initiative. While some of Washington’s Middle Eastern allies have joined, many of its traditional Western allies have thus far stayed away.

A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorised the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian group Hamas signed off.

Back to colonialism

Under Trump’s Gaza plan revealed late last year, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said it would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.

Many rights experts say that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s affairs resembled a colonial structure and have criticised the board for not including a Palestinian.

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with over 550 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers killed since the truce began in October.

Israel’s assault on Gaza since Oct 2023 has killed over 71,000 Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced the entire population.

Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2026