Azerbaijan does not plan to join $7B Gaza initiative announced at Board of Peace meeting

​​​​​​​By Kanyshai Butun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijan does not plan to participate in the $7 billion in donations announced Thursday during the first Board of Peace meeting in Washington, according to presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev.

Hajiyev wrote on US social media platform X that Azerbaijan, as a founding member state, supports the goals and objectives of the board and may consider participating in investment projects in the Gaza Strip in the future.

“However, I would like to clarify one point. Azerbaijan doesn’t envisage to participate in the USD 7 billion financial initiative related to Gaza that was announced during the meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington,” he wrote.

US President Donald Trump announced billions of dollars in contributions for relief in Gaza at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. He said Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait collectively pledged more than $7 billion.

The board was established within the framework of efforts toward a peaceful settlement in Gaza. It seeks to promote peacemaking around the world. Washington has said additional states have since joined the initiative.

A US-backed ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since Oct. 10, halting Israel’s two-year onslaught that has killed more than 72,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 since October 2023.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have committed hundreds of violations through shelling and gunfire, killing 611 Palestinians and injuring 1,630, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.