White House plans first Board of Peace summit on Feb. 19: report

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

The White House is planning a leaders' meeting for the Board of Peace on Feb. 19, U.S. media outlet Axios reported Saturday.

"It will be the first Board of Peace meeting and a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction," an anonymous U.S. official was quoted as saying.

The meeting is planned to be held at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Donald Trump administration began reaching out to dozens of countries on Friday to invite their leaders, Axios reported.

The plans for the summit are still in the early stages and could change, Axios said, adding that the White House declined to comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump formally launched the so-called "Board of Peace" on Jan. 22 at a charter-signing ceremony during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Some major global powers and traditional U.S. allies have declined to join the board.