WASHINGTON: Leaders from several countries on Saturday received a letter inviting them to join a so-called US-led “Board of Peace” initiative that would initially aim to end conflict in Gaza but then be expanded to tackle conflicts elsewhere, diplomats said.
The White House on Friday announced some members of this board, which would outlive its role supervising the temporary governance of Gaza, under a fragile ceasefire since October.
The names include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump is the chair of the board, according to a plan his White House unveiled in October.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic administration will be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance ‌for a transitional period.
Trump ‌goes for global peace role
“It’s going to, in my opinion, start ‌with ⁠Gaza and then do ‌conflicts as they arise,” President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
“... like — other countries that are going to war with each other,” Trump said when asked what its objective would be.
Many rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticized last year due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more ⁠members will be announced over the coming weeks.
It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN ‌Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates International Cooperation Minister Reem ‍Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.
But Israeli Prime Minister ‍Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of this board had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy — ‍possibly a reference to Fidan’s presence, as Israel objects to Turkish involvement. The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
France, Germany, Egypt, Turkey among those invited
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where more than 450 Palestinians, including over 100 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed during the truce.
Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say this amounts to genocide. Israel has said it took action ⁠in self-defense after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.
Four sources said on Saturday that the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada were among those invited to sit on the Board of Peace.
The offices of the Egyptian and Turkish presidents confirmed they had been invited. An EU official said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been invited to represent the European Union.
Two diplomatic sources said the invitation letter included a “charter.”
“It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN charter,” said one diplomat aware of the letter, adding that it called the board a “bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict.”
The Board of Peace will also include private equity executive and billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy, will be the high representative for Gaza.
Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander ‌of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.