US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is questioning whether President Donald Trump's Board of Peace can deliver on the peace plan for Gaza without more planning and resources from the US government, according to a cable the US embassy in Jerusalem sent to State Department leadership on Thursday, October 22, which was obtained by Politico. The cable was signed by Huckabee and expressed concern that neither the Board of Peace nor the embassy have the personnel to move forward with plans to disarm and rebuild Gaza, Politico reported, as summarised by Just Security's Early Edition on October 23.

Source: Politico via Just Security Early Edition

Huckabee's central concern, according to the Politico report carried by Israel's Channel 14, involves the future of the International Gaza Support Center, established as a coordination hub between the United States, Israel and international partners. The Pentagon plans to reduce its personnel at the centre over the coming year and transfer some missions to civilian hands, but it remains unclear who would fill the resulting gap, the report said. "The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is not currently prepared in terms of manpower to take on these roles," Huckabee wrote, according to Politico, adding that the Board of Peace was working to expand its staffing but that "it's still not clear whether it will be able to fulfill all the roles" at the centre.

Source: Channel 14 (C14) reporting Politico

The Board of Peace responded by calling its capacity "strong", according to Politico's reporting on October 22, summarised by GovBrief. Under the Board's official roadmap, an international stabilisation force is supposed to help secure aid, train Palestinian police and implement demilitarisation in Gaza alongside a transfer of authority from Hamas to a new administration, Channel 14 reported — tasks that remain among the plan's central challenges months after it was presented.