Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ Takes Shape as Israel Raises Concern

Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace for Gaza is beginning to take shape with Argentina’s Javier Milei and Canada’s Mark Carney set to become founding members, even as Israel voiced rare objections against parts of the US president’s plan to build on the fragile ceasefire in the region. 

The Argentine leader on Saturday thanked Trump for the invitation, saying it would be an honor to join. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also invited to be a founding member of the council, the head of his communications office said on X, while AFP reported that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was mulling whether to take part. They would be joined by Carney, who has accepted the offer to participate, a senior Canadian official has said. 

But on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized plans for a committee underneath the Board of Peace, saying it hadn’t been coordinated with Israel.

“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office. “The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter.”

On Friday, the White House announced a first executive panel that would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair before the formation of the overall board. It also appointed a second executive committee, which is expected to do the bulk of the work in remaking Gaza and that includes the Turkish foreign minister and a diplomat from Qatar. 

The second panel is the one objected to by Netanyahu, which considers those countries as too close to Hamas and unlikely to remake the coastal strip as Israel wants. It’s a rare open disagreement to Trump from the Israeli leader, who has consistently sought to portray his relationship with the US president as one of unity and full coordination. 

In the invitation shared by Milei, Trump wrote that the effort “will bring together a distinguished group of nations ready to shoulder the noble responsibility of building LASTING PEACE, an Honor reserved for those prepared to lead by example, and brilliantly invest in a secure and prosperous future for generations to come.” The partners are set to convene “in the near future,” he added.

Trump is trying to deliver on his 20-point plan for a sweeping and potentially decades-long transformation of Gaza, which has been largely destroyed over two years of war between Israel and Hamas. He announced the formation of the board on Thursday on social media, but didn’t say who was on it. “I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” he said at the time. 

As Hamas still retains control of almost half of Gaza and refuses to disarm, the prospect of a durable and prosperous peace is uncertain. The Iran-backed group is still to return the remains of the last hostage taken during the October 2023 attacks that triggered the conflict, a critical part of the first phase of the Trump proposal.

Despite Israeli misgivings about the sequencing, the Trump administration this week announced the launch of the second phase, including the formation of a 15-member technocrat government to replace Hamas rule in Gaza. At the same time, the White House sent out invitations to prospective Board of Peace constituents. The board’s chief executive officer, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, was earlier tapped for the role. 

An International Stabilization Force, made up of soldiers from different nations that’s also part of the Trump plan, is slated to follow at a later date. For now, it’s unclear which countries might contribute personnel and on what terms. The US will lead from the rear, having announced that it won’t put boots on the ground in Gaza.

Israel has threatened to resume the war if the ISF fails to persuade or compel Hamas to lay down its weapons. The militant group has shown no inclination to do so since the ceasefire was agreed to in mid-October. Still, the Trump administration has signaled determination to achieve “full demilitarization” of the entire Gaza Strip.

With assistance from Ugur Yilmaz, Valentine Baldassari, Angela Cullen and Jonathan Gilbert.

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