First meeting of Trump's Peace Committee on February 19, Israeli Foreign Minister announced to attend

(Patria) - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will attend the first formal meeting of US President Donald Trump's Peace Committee on February 19, two Israeli officials said yesterday, Reuters reported.

US officials told Reuters this week that Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild Gaza at the meeting in Washington and will detail plans for United Nations-approved stabilization forces for the Palestinian enclave.

Delegations from at least twenty countries, including heads of state, are expected to attend the Committee meeting, the creation of which was supported by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

While Middle Eastern regional powers, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, as well as major developing countries like Indonesia, have joined the Committee, global powers and traditional Western allies of the US have been more cautious.

US officials said the meeting will focus on Gaza, where two years of war have left much of the Palestinian enclave in ruins.

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to Trump's plan last year, and a ceasefire came into effect in October. More than 590 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in the violence that has erupted since then.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire, even as the Trump administration pushes for progress towards the next steps envisioned by the plan.

One of these is the deployment of International Stabilization Forces, as Israeli troops withdraw further and Hamas is disarmed.

US officials said Trump will announce that several countries plan to provide several thousand soldiers for the stabilization forces, which are expected to be deployed in Gaza in the coming months.

Hamas has so far rejected demands to lay down its arms, and Israel has said that if the group does not disarm peacefully, Israel will have to force it to do so.