Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ proposal sparks international alarm over Gaza governance-for-sale

KARACHI: A controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to ascertain a so-called “Board of Peace” to supervise Gaza’s governance and reconstruction has triggered widespread concern, with critics warning that the plan successfully commercialises peace and sidelines established worldwide mechanisms.
In keeping with experiences by Bloomberg and The Atlantic, nations searching for everlasting membership on the proposed board could be required to pay $1 billion in money inside the first 12 months, a situation that may exempt them from the board’s in any other case restricted three-year time period. Pakistan and at the least 5 different nations have reportedly obtained invites to hitch the physique.
A draft constitution cited by the experiences reveals that Trump would function the board’s inaugural chairman, retaining sweeping powers to approve member states and ratify all selections. Whereas member nations could be allowed to vote, the chairman would maintain closing authority, elevating severe questions on transparency, accountability, and collective decision-making.
The constitution states that the board will develop into operational as soon as three nations conform to its phrases. It additionally asserts that the initiative will “depart from approaches and establishments which have too usually failed,” language extensively interpreted as a pointed dismissal of the United Nations’ position in worldwide peace-building. Notably, the draft makes no specific reference to the Gaza Strip, regardless of the board being promoted as a mechanism to supervise its future.
What the $1 billion membership payment would fund stays unclear. The Atlantic reported that the draft constitution doesn’t specify how the cash could be used, stating solely that board bills could be lined via “voluntary funding from Member States, different States, organizations, or different sources.” The dearth of monetary readability has fuelled criticism that the proposal dangers turning into an unaccountable, pay-to-play construction.
The board is meant to supervise the implementation of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, introduced following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after two years of devastating battle. Trump lately declared that Part Two of the plan had begun, requiring Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza-conditions that stay extremely contentious and fragile on the bottom.
Trump has additionally introduced a high-profile and politically delicate lineup for the board, together with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, particular envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, World Financial institution President Ajay Banga, and billionaire buyers Robert Gabriel and Marc Rowan. The inclusion of personal buyers alongside state officers has intensified fears of blurred traces between humanitarian goals and monetary or geopolitical pursuits.
The White Home has confirmed that invites have been additionally despatched to a number of heads of state. Argentine President Javier Milei publicly accepted the invitation, calling it an “honour” to hitch as a founding member. Egypt and Turkey have confirmed receipt of invites despatched to Presidents Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, respectively.
Further invites have been reportedly prolonged to officers and political figures from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Cyprus, together with UN Center East peace envoy Sigrid Kaag-a transfer that has additional difficult perceptions of how the brand new physique would coexist with current UN-led processes.
Diplomatic observers warn that the proposal dangers undermining worldwide regulation and established multilateral frameworks by concentrating energy in a single workplace and linking affect on to monetary contributions. Human rights advocates argue that Gaza’s future can’t be determined via monetary thresholds or elite boards indifferent from the realities confronted by thousands and thousands of Palestinians.
As invites flow into and reactions mount, the proposed “Board of Peace” has already ignited a fierce debate: whether or not it represents an modern break from failed diplomacy, or a harmful precedent during which peace, governance, and reconstruction are positioned on the public sale block.