WASHINGTON — The US is telling interlocutors that it has secured commitments from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany to have their leaders join US President Donald Trump on the Board of Peace that will oversee the postwar management of Gaza, four officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Commitments from six countries — including prominent stakeholders in the Mideast and Europe — offer critical international buy-in to the Trump administration’s efforts to advance its Gaza peace plan out of the initial ceasefire phase.

However, willingness to sit on the Board of Peace does not mean further support from each country is guaranteed, according to a US official, an Israeli official and two Arab diplomats who spoke to The Times of Israel for this story on condition of anonymity.

Still, the US is hoping that broad, prominent membership in the Board of Peace will boost the initiative’s international legitimacy and increase the likelihood that countries will be willing to contribute funds, troops or other forms of support.

Accordingly, the US is aiming for roughly half a dozen more leaders to join the panel headed by Trump, including Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The State Department, along with the foreign ministries of the aforementioned countries, did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump even said publicly during bin Salman’s visit to Washington last month that he hopes the de facto Saudi leader will join him on the Board of Peace.

The four officials said Riyadh is still holding off on making such a decision until there is more clarity regarding the situation in Gaza, where Hamas has pledged to hold onto its weapons and Israeli forces have opened fire on or conducted strikes against Palestinians crossing the ceasefire line on a near-daily basis since a fragile ceasefire was signed on October 9.

While bin Salman would be a welcome addition to the Board of Peace, as far as Israel is concerned, Jerusalem continues to resist Turkish involvement in the postwar management of Gaza, particularly in the International Stabilization Force that the Trump plan envisions will phase out the IDF in the Strip.

The Israeli official said that he expects the US pressure in the coming weeks........

© The Times of Israel