Trump says Board of Peace will unveil $5 billion in Gaza reconstruction pledges at inaugural meeting
West Palm Beach (AP): President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged USD 5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilisation and police forces for the territory.
The pledges will be formally announced when board members gather in Washington on Thursday for their first meeting, he said.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honour to serve as its Chairman,” Trump said in a social media posting announcing the pledges.
He did not detail which member nations were making the pledges for reconstruction or would contribute personnel to the stabilisation force. But Indonesia's military said Sunday that up to 8,000 of its troops are expected to be ready by the end of June for a potential deployment to Gaza as part of a humanitarian and peace mission. It's the first firm commitment that the Republican president has received.
Rebuilding the Palestinian territory will be a daunting endeavour. The United Nations, World Bank and European Union estimate that reconstruction of the territory will cost USD 70 billion. Few places in the Gaza Strip were left unscathed by more than two years of Israeli bombardment.
The ceasefire deal calls for an armed international stabilization force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the Hamas group, a key demand of Israel. Thus far, few countries have expressed interest in taking part in the proposed force.
The October 10 US-brokered ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than 2-year war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones.
It is not clear how many of the more than 20 members of the Board of Peace will attend the first meeting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held White House talks with Trump last week, is not expected to be there.
Trump's new board was first seen as a mechanism focused on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. But it has taken shape with his ambition for a far broader mandate of resolving global crises and appears to be the latest US effort to sidestep the United Nations as Trump aims to reset the post-World War II international order.
Many of America's top allies in Europe and elsewhere have declined to join what they suspect may be an attempt to rival the Security Council.
Trump also confirmed that Thursday's meeting will take place at the US Institute of Peace, which the State Department announced in December it was remaining the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace.
The building is the subject of litigation brought by former employees and executives of the nonprofit think tank after the Republican administration seized the facility last year and fired almost all the institute's staff.
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Worker’s body reaches Ranchi from Saudi 4 months after death; family rejects over compensation
Ranchi (PTI): The body of a migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Giridih district killed in Saudi Arabia in October last year has arrived at Ranchi Airport, but his family refused to accept it over pending compensation, officials said.
Shikha Lakra, team leader of the state migrant control cell, told PTI that, before taking the body of Vijay Kumar Mahato, the family is demanding compensation from the private company where he used to work in the Arab country.
Mahato was killed in an alleged crossfire between the police and criminals.
“Since it was a bullet injury case, the matter is before a court in Jeddah. The final compensation may depend on the court’s decision,” Lakra said.
“The Indian Embassy informed us about the body’s arrival, and coordination was done with district authorities. Our role is limited to coordination in cases involving overseas employers and foreign jurisdiction,” she added.
Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said the authorities will try to convince the family to perform the last rites.
“We have already sanctioned Rs 5 lakh under the government scheme for migrant’s deaths abroad. The compensation payment might take some time,” he said.
The body is currently at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The Family members said they will only accept it if the company provides written assurance regarding compensation. “Without that assurance, we will not receive the body,” said Ram Prasad Mahato, the deceased’s brother-in-law.
Mahato, a native of Dudhpaniya village in Madh Gopali panchayat under Dumri block, was employed as a tower line fitter. His family said he was struck by a bullet during a gunfight between local police and an extortion gang and later succumbed to his injuries.
Social activist Sikander Ali said Mahato is survived by his wife, two young sons aged five and three, and elderly parents.
