Three senior U.S. officials connected to the Board of Peace, the Trump-led body created to resolve the conflict in Gaza, have been meeting with congressional offices this week to request $200 million for a peacekeeping force, according to two people with knowledge of the meetings. The meetings mark the first time that Board of Peace representatives have approached Congress with a funding request. 

Jasper Jeffers, an American military officer serving as commander of the International Stabilization Force, the United Nations-mandated peacekeeping force created in last year’s ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas; Board of Peace senior advisor Josh Gruenbaum; and retired Gen. Mark Schwartz, a former U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority who is now the Board of Peace’s security lead, spoke at the Capitol Hill meetings. 

The ISF, which was part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan announced last September, has struggled to find backers. Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania pledged troops to the effort, but most have not yet done so. Indonesia paused its plans in March during the Iran war. What was billed as a 20,000-troop force has fewer than 20 initial members, according to a Wall Street Journal report this week. The ISF’s goal is to demilitarize Gaza and keep Hamas out of power, and countries have voiced concerns over whether their troops would be required to militarily confront Hamas. 

Gruenbaum, Jeffers and Schwartz have met or plan to meet with staff from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the national security-focused subcommittees on the House and Senate Appropriations committees. A Board of Peace official called the meetings “extensive and highly constructive.” 

“The delegation shared the progress that the Board has made in recent weeks, including movement toward the establishment of a humanitarian pilot [program] in Gaza, ongoing efforts in negotiations to disarm Hamas, preparations for the Palestinian technocratic government to assume authority, the huge improvement in the humanitarian situation, the pending start of training for a civilian police and the recent and ongoing scale-up in manpower and logistics for the International Stabilization Force,” the official told Jewish Insider.

The requested $200 million for peacekeeping operations, or PKO — a specific category in the Foreign Assistance Act — is primarily intended to fund the International Stabilization Force, according to a source with knowledge of the Board of Peace’s activities. 

The request is for discretionary funding, rather than a direct congressional appropriation for the Board of Peace. The Board of Peace source said conversations about congressional appropriations for the body may come later. 

The Board of Peace official said the congressional meetings marked “the start of an extensive effort to work with Congress” in order to “transform Gaza into a place of peace, prosperity, economic development and reconstruction.” 

Earlier in the week, Board of Peace officials met in Brussels with senior Palestinian Authority leaders, and the European Union committed to providing $1 billion toward Gaza recovery efforts.