Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel has joined U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ initiative. The announcement came during his visit to Washington to meet Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Pictures from press releases after the Netanyahu-Rubio meeting depicted them holding a document with Netanyahu’s signature regarding Israel joining the board. In a post on X, Netanyahu said he “signed Israel’s accession as a member of the ‘Board of Peace.‘”
Board To Tackle Rebuilding Gaza
Adopted in mid-November, a U.N. Security Council resolution authorised the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, after a fragile ceasefire had begun in October. The ceasefire, negotiated by Trump, was signed off on by both Netanyahu and Hamas.
Since its beginning in October, the ceasefire brokered by Trump has been repeatedly violated, with at least 580 Palestinian casualties and four Israeli soldiers reported dead, according to Palestinian and Israeli tallies respectively.
Under this new Gaza plan, the board will be supervising Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump also stated thereafter that the board, chaired by him, will expand to tackle other global conflicts.
The first meeting of the “Board of Peace” is set to be held on February 19 in Washington and will discuss plans for Gaza’s reconstruction.
The next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan brings forward more complex issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, something the group has strongly rejected in the past. It also includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
Mixed Response from Trump’s Allies
Rights experts believe that Trump overseeing the board to supervise a foreign territory is akin to a colonial structure. Further, Israel’s presence on the board, while there is no Palestinian representation included, has garnered criticism.
Trump sent out invitations in January to select countries and received cautious reactions from most. Experts are concerned that this board could undermine the United Nations.
Many of the United States’ Middle Eastern allies have joined; however, their traditional Western allies have proceeded with a more lukewarm response.
(With inputs from Reuters)
