The US plans to hold the first working meeting of the Board of Peace on February 19 in Washington, two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel on Saturday.

The US sent out invitations to the 26 other countries represented on the panel on Friday afternoon, the diplomats said, confirming a report on the Axios news site.

The date is set to coincide with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, which may complicate Muslim leaders’ plans to attend.

The US held a signing ceremony for the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.

But while several dozen countries were invited, less than two dozen participated in the ceremony, amid discomfort with the Board of Peace’s charter, which envisions the initiative as a means of usurping the United Nations, and amid Washington’s spat with Western countries over Greenland.

US officials have sought to assure allies that the Board of Peace will first deal only with Gaza, in line with a UN Security Council resolution that granted the panel a mandate to oversee the postwar management of the Strip for the next two years.

The February 19 conference will be used to fundraise for the initiative, which will need at........

© The Times of Israel