“A year ago, none of this existed. We didn’t have the conflict resolved. The Board of Peace didn’t exist. Nobody knew what the International Stabilization Force was because it didn’t exist. And there was no National Committee for Gaza because it didn’t exist. What you have seen is almost like the building of a really big start-up. The effort that has been put into this by all these great partners, who are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts and their passion to see peace and real progress, they could have built a massive company with the sophistication and effort that has gone into this. But I think we are building something way more important than a company. We are building something that is a platform to enable the Palestinian people in Gaza to finally focus on improving their livelihoods and improving their lives, and for those who want to live in peace to give them a chance to do so. Hopefully this will show the Israelis that there is hope for peace and coexistence. But we realized on our first day doing this that the concept of trust did not exist. So this now is based on incentives and concrete steps, so that everyone knows what is expected of them and how we get there.”

As President Trump stated, extraordinary progress has been made in just one year: a ceasefire that ended large-scale war; the return of all living hostages and the remains of the deceased; historic increases in humanitarian aid and improved nutrition across Gaza; and a roadmap to demilitarize, deradicalize, and rebuild Gaza, which will enable a future of peace and prosperity for Palestinians, and lasting security for the people of Israel. Our mission is hard, and the work ahead will not be easy. But with the strong support of our international partners, including the UAE, the EU, and others, we are confident that we can succeed and turn the plan’s vision into reality.