The highlight of Trump’s Middle East policy: The US President presents his Gaza plan – that’s to be expected.
Feb 19, 2026, 4:16 p.mFeb 19, 2026, 4:16 p.m
Thomas Seibert, Istanbul / ch media
Donald Trump is planning a highlight of his Middle East policy this Thursday: The US President has invited top politicians from around 20 countries to the first meeting of his “Peace Council” in Washington to give the starting signal for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
US President Donald Trump at the announcement of the Peace Council at this year’s WEF in Davos.image: keystone
The US government is promising commitments from various countries for billions in payments and for soldiers from the planned Gaza peacekeeping force. But before the meeting there are arguments and many unanswered questions. The heads of state and government of important Middle East states such as Israel, Egypt and Türkiye are represented in Washington.
The Gaza Strip, with its two million inhabitants, is to be rebuilt after the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and governed without the participation of Palestinian extremists. More than 70,000 people died in the war, and hundreds of thousands are currently living in tents, emergency shelters and destroyed buildings.
In addition to the USA and Israel, the “Peace Council” includes Islamic states such as Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Egypt. The World Bank estimates that rebuilding Gaza will cost around $53 billion. Trump said via his short message service Truth Social that members of the “Peace Council” had pledged more than five billion dollars in reconstruction aid.
According to the New York Times, the USA and the UAE each want to give one billion. Other donors are not yet known. The government of the Emirate of Qatar said in December that it did not want to pay for Israel’s devastation. Saudi Arabia also wants to hold back for the time being.
Illustrious round: Donald Trump (center) with the Peace Council members at the WEF.picture: ap
Troop contributors, scope and mission of Trump’s planned International Stabilization Force for Gaza (ISF) are also unclear. So far only Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim state – has come forward with a promise to send up to 8,000 soldiers to Gaza.
According to the Indonesian government, the total troop strength of the ISF is said to be 20,000 soldiers, but some potential troop contributors such as Turkey are rejected by Israel. Israel is also against Trump’s planned inclusion of Turkish and Qatari politicians in a supervisory body that will look after Gaza for the “Peace Council”.
Disarmament of Hamas remains unclear
The mandate for the ISF is also unclear. Some countries refuse to contribute soldiers to the force if the ISF is to use force to disarm Hamas. Indonesia also only wants to “play a non-offensive role” in the ISF, as a government spokesman said according to media reports. The order for the ISF is not yet known.
The fact that Hamas still has its weapons since the end of the war in October is one of the biggest problems for reconstruction. According to government information, Israel gave the terrorist organization a deadline of 60 days to disarm at Trump’s request. If Hamas lets the ultimatum pass, Israel wants to attack Gaza again.
The “new Gaza” is the goal of the committee.image: getty
According to experts, Hamas has up to 20,000 fighters equipped with assault rifles, grenade launchers and rockets. Trump’s administration has been announcing a plan to disarm Hamas for weeks, but so far there has been no date for presenting the plan. According to Trump’s peace plan from October, power in Gaza would transfer from Hamas to the newly formed Palestinian technocrat administration NCAG.
The NCAG, headed by Ali Abdu Hamid Schaath, was set up in January, but its 15 members have not yet been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. Nickolay Mladenow, the Gaza representative of the “Peace Council”, justified the entry ban with violations of the ceasefire in Gaza. If the NCAG arrives in Gaza and the violations do not stop, it would damage the government’s reputation, the Bulgarian diplomat said at the Munich Security Conference.
According to Palestinian figures, around 600 people have been killed in fighting between Israel and Hamas since October. The two conflicting parties accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.