Nicosia confirms Board of Peace will meet in Cyprus, but island played no organising role

Politics gazaIsraelPalestineTop Newstrumpwar Nicosia confirms Board of Peace will meet in Cyprus, but island played no organising role Us Trump Board Of Peace Relevant News Nicosia confirms Board of Peace will meet in Cyprus, but island played no organising role 24 June 2026 Cyprus to dodge Europe’s killer heatwave, meteorologist says 24 June 2026 Hourly-paid government workers strike for first time in Republic’s history 24 June 2026 Stelios Marathovouniotis 24 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The US-led Board of Peace will meet in Cyprus on 30 June and 1 July, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed on Wednesday. Letymbiotis was asked to comment on a Times of Israel report which said that the international body overseeing postwar Gaza reconstruction picked a resort in Cyprus as the location for its next meeting. A diplomatic source told en.philenews the Republic of Cyprus had no involvement in the organisation of the meeting. Cyprus is not organising or co-organising the event, they noted. Participants will include representatives from the Board of Peace, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) — the panel of Palestinian technocrats tasked with replacing Hamas in governing the Strip —and the Office of the High Representative, which coordinates between the two bodies, Letymbiotis said. Some officials attending have already requested meetings with the Cypriot Foreign Minister, he added. What is the Board of Peace? The Board of Peace is a US-led international body established by President Donald Trump in January 2026 to oversee postwar governance, reconstruction, and stabilisation in Gaza. Trump first announced the initiative in late September 2025 as part of a 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The Board was formally established at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 22 January 2026, where 28 countries signed its founding charter. A UN Security Council resolution adopted in November 2025 had already welcomed its establishment and authorised the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to Gaza. The Board’s structure includes an Office of the High Representative headed by Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, formerly the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. The NCAG — a 15-member panel of Palestinian technocrats — operates under the Board’s umbrella. Cyprus’s role Cyprus welcomed and supported the Gaza reconstruction plan under UN Resolution 2803. President Christodoulides attended the first conference at which the plan was announced, submitting an eight-point proposal based on President Trump’s plan for reconstruction in Gaza. Cyprus later accepted an invitation to participate as an observer at the Board’s 19 February meeting in Washington. Christodoulides described the invitation as very important, noting that Cyprus is the EU member state closest to the region, according to an official government announcement. Cyprus did not sign the founding charter at Davos, citing concerns about the Board’s relationship with the United Nations framework. “What I can tell you is that the Peace Council has been established for the implementation of the reconstruction plan for Gaza under UN Resolution 2803, which we not only welcomed as the Republic of Cyprus but supported from the very first moment,” Letymbiotis said. He argued that the Council’s decision to hold the conference in Cyprus recognises the country’s role in assisting the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Why progress has stalled An Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries and a Palestinian official familiar with the matter described the Cyprus gathering as an opportunity to reset and get back on the same page after half a year of limited progress, the Times of Israel reported. Global attention shifted to the Iran war, while talks on Hamas disarmament have remained deadlocked. Hamas has argued that Israel must first abide by the terms of the October 2024 ceasefire — including halting strikes deep into Gaza, pulling back troops, and allowing more humanitarian aid — before considering giving up its weapons. The stalemate has left nearly half of Gaza’s population of over two million living in temporary tents after nearly three years of conflict. A February donor conference in Washington generated $17 billion in pledges, but only a fraction of those funds have been transferred, as Gulf countries that made the largest commitments were among the most affected by Iranian strikes in the weeks that followed. The NCAG’s 15-member panel has been stuck in Cairo since its establishment in January, unable to enter Gaza amid Hamas’s refusal to disarm and mounting Israeli restrictions on its ability to operate, according to two Arab diplomats cited by the Times of Israel. Read more: Trump’s Board of Peace to meet in Cyprus next week, Times of Israel reports Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Cyprus to dodge Europe’s killer heatwave, meteorologist says Hourly-paid government workers strike for first time in Republic’s history Things to do on Wednesday, June 24 UK Met Office issues red extreme heat warning for southern England On this day: John Isner, Nicolas Mahut play longest match in tennis history in 2010 EU hosts Taliban officials in Brussels for first time Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community marches for its rights after years of rollback Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.