Nicosia, Cyprus. United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace is set to convene at a resort in Cyprus next week, according to reports on Tuesday. The gathering is believed to be aimed at recalibrating the board’s approach.
Reported participants
Israeli newspaper the Times of Israel reported that the meeting in Cyprus will include representatives from the Board of Peace’s executive board, the Palestinian-run committee for the administration of Gaza, and the office of Nikolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat appointed by Trump as his high representative for Gaza.
Government response
The Cyprus Mail attempted to verify the report, but no representative of the Cypriot government was immediately available for comment.
Cyprus and EU position
Cyprus was among dozens of countries invited to join the Board of Peace. Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on the day of the board’s inauguration that the island was waiting for the European Union to form a common position on the matter before taking a decision.
EU members Bulgaria and Hungary joined the board as full members, while Cyprus, in line with the EU’s broader position, ultimately decided to attend meetings as an observer.
Developments since January
Since the formation of the Board of Peace in January and the opening of the Rafah border crossing in February, there has been little progress. In the intervening months, there have also been multiple recorded incidents of Israeli Defence Forces soldiers killing Palestinian civilians.