Trump’s Gaza peace board charter seeks $1bn for extended membership, document shows

The Trump administration is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least $1 billion. (Reuters)
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Updated 19 January 2026
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Trump’s Gaza peace board charter seeks $1bn for extended membership, document shows

  • The board is described in the charter as “an international organization that seeks to promote stability”

WASHINGTON: A draft charter sent to about 60 ​countries by the US administration calls for members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want ‌membership ‌on his new Board of Peace to last more ‌than ⁠three ​years, ‌according to the document seen by Reuters.

“Each Member State shall serve a term of no ⁠more than three years from ‌this Charter’s ‍entry ‍into force, subject ‍to renewal by the Chairman,” the document, first reported by Bloomberg News, ​shows.

“The three-year membership term shall not apply ⁠to Member States that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into ‌force.”

The board is described in the charter as “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

It would become official once three member states agree to the charter.

The US president would also be responsible for approving the group’s official seal, the document said.

Trump has invited a number of world leaders, including Argentina’s Javier Milei and Canada’s Mark Carney, to be part of a Board of Peace for Gaza, which would be formed under the broader umbrella of his new peace board.

The plan attracted sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the details hadn’t been coordinated with his country.

* With Reuters


HRW says Israel’s Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war

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HRW says Israel’s Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war

  • “Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags,” said Kaiss
  • “How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately?”

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli military’s call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised “serious risks of violations of the laws of war.”
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel with Israel conducting air strikes across the country and its troops pushing into border towns.
On Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometers (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action.
“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?” he said in a statement from the rights group.
HRW said “the sweeping nature” of Israel’s call raised “concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians,” adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The evacuation call “raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war,” it added.
Lebanese authorities said dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes since Monday.