US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” for post-war Gaza started to take form on Saturday, with the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada requested to hitch.
The bulletins from these leaders got here after the US president named his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to the panel.
Trump had already declared himself the chair of the physique, as he promotes a controversial imaginative and prescient of financial growth within the Palestinian territory, which lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The strikes got here after a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to control Gaza held its first assembly in Cairo which was attended by Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has partnered with Witkoff for months on the problem.
In Canada, a senior aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he meant to simply accept Trump’s invitation, whereas in Turkey, a spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated he had been requested to change into a “founding member” of the board.
Egypt’s Overseas Minister Badr Abdelatty stated Cairo was “finding out” a request for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to hitch.
Sharing a picture of the invitation letter, Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X that it will be “an honor” to take part within the initiative.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the heads of state of round 60 international locations had acquired the constitution of Trump’s proposed ‘Board of Peace’.
The doc was despatched to 60 heads of state — together with in Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Britain, Germany, Canada and Australia — together with an invite to hitch the board, the publication reported whereas quoting diplomatic sources.
In line with the doc, the board will work to “restore reliable and lawful governance and safe enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by battle,” rather than different organizations, the report stated.
“The constitution additionally implicitly criticizes the UN. It opens with emphasizing the necessity for ‘a extra nimble and efficient worldwide peace-building physique’, including that sturdy peace requires ‘the braveness to depart from … establishments which have too usually failed’,” the report added.
In the meantime, in a press release despatched to AFPBlair stated: “I thank President Trump for his management in establishing the Board of Peace and am honored to be appointed to its Govt Board.”
Blair is a controversial determine within the Center East due to his position within the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump himself stated final 12 months that he needed to verify Blair was an “acceptable option to all people”.
Blair spent years centered on the Israeli-Palestinian concern as a consultant of the “Center East Quartet” — the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia — after leaving Downing Avenue in 2007.
The White Home stated the Board of Peace will tackle points resembling “governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, funding attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilization”.
The opposite members of the board to date are World Financial institution President Ajay Banga, an Indian-born American businessman; billionaire US financier Marc Rowan; and Robert Gabriel, a loyal Trump aide who serves on the US Nationwide Safety Council.
Trump has created a second “Gaza govt board” that seems designed to have a extra advisory position.
It was not instantly clear which world leaders had been requested to be on every board.
The White Home, which stated on Friday that extra members can be named to each entities, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Israel objects to line-up of Gaza governing physique
Individually, Israel stated on Saturday it objected to the line-up of the Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to control post-war Gaza, which started its work in Cairo this week.
“The announcement relating to the composition of the Gaza Govt Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs opposite to its coverage,” stated a press release from the workplace of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The prime minister has instructed the overseas affairs minister to contact the US secretary of state on this matter,” it added.
Israel strikes
Washington has stated the Gaza plan had gone on to a second part — from implementing the ceasefire to disarming Hamas.
On Friday, Trump named US Main Normal Jasper Jeffers to go the Worldwide Stabilization Pressure, which can be tasked with offering safety in Gaza and coaching a brand new police drive to succeed Hamas.
Jeffers, from particular operations in US Central Command, in late 2024 was put in command of monitoring a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which has continued periodic strikes geared toward Hezbollah militants.
Gaza native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath was earlier tapped to go the governing committee.
Trump, an actual property developer, has beforehand mused about turning devastated Gaza right into a Riviera-style space of resorts, though he has backed away from calls to forcibly displace the inhabitants.
