Free Republic

• The original goal of Trump's peace plan was not to relocate Hamas's arsenal. It was to eliminate it permanently. • Weapons stored in warehouses remain weapons that function. Explosives stored today can be easily recovered tomorrow. Rocket factories that are preserved can resume production. Tunnels that are mapped rather than destroyed can be used again. • The issue has never been where Hamas keeps its weapons. The issue has always been Hamas having access them. • Transferring weapons from one Palestinian group to another is not demilitarization. • Even more disturbing is the new deal's assertion that "no weapons...

An announcement on Hamas’s agreement to a 15-point Board of Peace proposal that would see the gradual handover of the terror group’s weapons could come in the coming days, an Arab diplomat familiar with the negotiations said. But as reports amassed about an imminent deal, an Israeli official appeared to pour cold water on the optimism, saying that the 15-point proposal “does not adequately address” Jerusalem’s demands for the “complete demilitarization, [which is] a precondition for any process.” “There will be no IDF withdrawal from the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed and the Strip is...

Turkey still does not meet the legal requirements to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program, the US State Department said in a letter to Congress obtained by The Jerusalem Post. The July 22 letter, sent by the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs on behalf of US President Donald Trump in response to a letter from Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Missouri), reiterated that Washington’s policy toward Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program remains unchanged and is fully consistent with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and Section 1245 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. According to...

The European Union has coordinated efforts to raise 900 million euros ($1 billion) in pledges of aid for Gaza’s rebuilding following two years of Israeli bombardment that left much of the Palestinian enclave in ruins, a senior EU official said Monday. How much of the money will be delivered, and when reconstruction of Gaza can begin, is unclear. The ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that took effect in October is effectively stalled. European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica announced the fund after a meeting in Brussels of the Palestine Donors Group, which includes EU and Middle...

Under the agreement, Gaza will be led by the NCAG, which describes itself as a “transitional, technocratic, and apolitical Palestinian committee” on its website. It is led by Palestinian official Ali Shaath from Cairo, Egypt. ============================================================== Hamas announced Monday that it has dissolved its government in Gaza as it prepares to transfer power to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was established under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. The militant group did not state whether it actually intends to disarm itself, which was also required under the ceasefire, but described the decision as evidence of its commitment to...

President Donald Trump's Board of Peace announced on Wednesday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for "Palestine Refugees" can not partake in rebuilding Gaza. The Board of Peace shared a post on X by the US Mission to the UN stating: "UN Member States have a choice: Fund incitement, terrorism, and stagnation with pledges to UNRWA. Or fund the Board of Peace, giving Gazans a path to peace and prosperity. History will not forget." The Board of Peace added: "UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza. We are turning the page on the complex of perpetual aid...

Donald Trump will not rule out putting troops on the ground in Iran while warning that the next 'big wave' of strikes is impending. The President said on Monday that he would allow for US service members to enter Iran 'if they were necessary.'

RunTime 15 m 23 s ... the U.S. and Israel’s major combat operations against Iran, announced by President Trump as Operation Epic Fury, are being miscast as “Iraq 2.0” and “regime change.” She cites Trump’s message to Iranians to “take over your government” and JD Vance’s statement that there is “no chance” of a years-long Middle East war, framing the strikes as targeted to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions rather than an occupation. Barbara shows Iran’s leadership has long served a British-centered financial system rooted in the 1908 BP oil concession, reinforced by events such as the 1953 Mossadegh coup and...

The Supreme Court tried to disarm Trump's tariff revolution. Treasury Sec. Bessent declared Hamilton's system the foundation of sovereignty. Meanwhile, 60 nations answered Trump's call at the Board of Peace. One system is dying. Another is born. Susan Kokinda argues Trump’s response to the Supreme Court tariff ruling points beyond China to “foreign interests” tied to British Empire's Adam Smith free-trade ideology, defended by the US Chamber of Commerce and Cato Institute. She cites Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ambassador Jamieson Greer framing the administration’s approach as Hamiltonian economic sovereignty, and says tariffs will continue under other laws, including a...

The Vatican has a long memory when it comes to blocking American-led peace initiatives — and a short one when it comes to recognizing Jewish rights in the Land of Israel. When Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, announced Tuesday that Pope Leo would not be joining U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, he framed the decision in procedural language about the United Nations. But for anyone who has watched the Holy See’s decades-long pattern of hostility toward Israeli sovereignty, the refusal carries a familiar echo. Parolin made the announcement on the sidelines of a...

Washington — President Trump on Thursday announced the United States will contribute $10 billion to the "Board of Peace" he established as part of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, although the funding source isn't yet clear. "I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace," Mr. Trump told representatives from roughly 50 countries on Thursday. "The president called that a "very small number when you look at that compared to the cost of war."

The Vatican will not join President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See "will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States," the Vatican’s official news outlet reported. The Board of Peace, which was chartered in January and includes nearly 20 countries, is tasked with managing recovery efforts in the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war. While responding...

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that member states of his newly-formed Board of Peace have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza. Trump said the commitment will be formally unveiled on Thursday, February 19, at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. In addition to financial pledges, Trump said participating nations have committed thousands of personnel to both an International Stabilization Force and to local police units to maintain security and peace for Gazans. “On February 19th, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace Members at the Donald J....

Nickolay Mladenov, the head diplomat in charge of the Board of Peace's subcommittee on the Gaza ceasefire, stressed on Friday that all armed groups in the Gaza Strip must disarm. Mladenov was responding on social media to a post by Aaron Goren, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who wondered why Mladenov refused to respond to a question on whether reports that Hamas will only be partially disarmed as part of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan are accurate. “I've made it very clear that all militants in Gaza need to be disarmed and there is...

The Bible describes a future period in which authority is concentrated not solely in traditional kingdoms, but in a limited number of powerful figures who operate beyond national boundaries. And that is why I am paying close attention to President Trump’s Board of Peace. Here are some fast facts: 1) President Trump will serve as chairman and wield considerable overall control. It will help resolve conflicts globally. He has the sole authority to invite new members and appoint a successor. 2) Global peace seems to be their goal, though they will participate in other global duties as well. The immediate...

Xi Jinping has offered Europe new trade partnerships and promised to uphold the “values” of the United Nations. The move is an apparent attempt to capitalise on the continent’s growing rift with the United States. On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer became the latest leader to travel to Beijing after Mark Carney and Petteri Orpo, the prime ministers of Canada and Finland. In a meeting with Mr Orpo on Tuesday, the Chinese president said China and Europe were “partners, not adversaries” and invited Finnish companies to “swim in the vast ocean of the Chinese market”. He also appeared to snub Donald...

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. The US on Thursday announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centers and seaside resorts, part of US President Donald Trump’s push to advance an Israel-Hamas ceasefire shaken by repeated violations. On Friday, Channel 12 news reported that Kushner and Witkoff would also discuss with Netanyahu the ongoing efforts to secure the return of Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage in Gaza....

The latest media palpitation about Donald Trump concerns his just-announced “Board of Peace.” Unveiled as an initiative to manage the introduction of tranquillity and physical reconstruction of that pile of rubble formerly known as Gaza, the Board of Peace seems to be filling all the empty space in the parking lot reserved for international relations. Think Big! The BoP now seems to take as its mandate international conflict more generally. Reporting on the fledgling enterprise, a story on ABC News mournfully told the world that “Critics and government leaders are decrying the board, saying it undermines the United Nations.” Is...

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Canada was no longer welcome to his newly established Board of Peace. In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump rescinded Canada's invitation, informing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that his country could no longer join the "most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled." "Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time," Trump wrote. Trump unveiled the board during a speech and signing...

Pope Leo is among world leaders invited to join U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Wednesday. Leo, the first U.S. pope and a critic of some of Trump's policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said. "The pope has received an invitation and we are considering what to do," Parolin told journalists. "I believe it will be something that requires a bit of time for consideration before giving a response." The board was initially aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, however Trump has said it will have a much...