Israel objects to White House’s pick of leaders for ‘board of peace’ | Israel-Gaza war
Israel objected to the White House’s selection of world leaders to participate in the so-called “Peace Board”, which is intended to temporarily oversee administration and reconstruction in the Gaza strip.
The White House and other sources have announced a series of appointments and invitations to the organization in the past two days, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Argentinian president Javier Milei.
Israel said some of the appointments were “not coordinated with Israel and contrary to Israeli policy”, without specifying whom it objected to. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also told the Israeli foreign minister to contact US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The group, which Donald Trump described Thursday as “the largest and most prestigious assembly ever assembled anywhere, at any time,” is expected to temporarily govern Gaza in place of Hamas.
The board is part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. Despite the ceasefire declared in October, Israel continues to kill Palestinians. At least 463 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire was established.
Israel also continues to restrict food and other forms of aid to the strip due to the hunger prevailing in Gaza. Much of the population lives in substandard housing, and worn-out tents offer little protection from the weather. Palestinians in Gaza have died from hypothermia during particularly bitter cold this winter.
The exact structure of the peace board is not yet clear, but two separate executive boards have been announced.
The “constituent board” will focus on investment and foreign relations, while the “Gaza board” will oversee another group, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which will oversee day-to-day affairs in Gaza.
Rubio is on the seven-member founding board chaired by Trump, along with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Tony Blair.
Blair thanked Trump for the appointment and said NCAG was “a huge step forward.”
“This gives hope to people in Gaza that they can have a future that is different from the past, and to Israelis that they can have a neighbor who does not threaten their security,” Blair said in a statement. he said.
Since Sisi and Erdoğan did not approve their appointments, no statement was made as to whether all the guests accepted the invitation to join the Peace Council.
The US ceasefire plan for Gaza entered its second phase this week; This plan includes thorny issues such as the disarmament of Hamas, reconstruction and the deployment of international security forces.
Hamas has not yet committed to disarmament, and the composition of its international security force is still unknown. Israel has opposed Türkiye’s role in this force in the past.
The peace board will be tasked with carrying out not only the administration but also the reconstruction of Gaza. Much of the strip was destroyed by Israeli bombs and bulldozers during more than two years of war that killed more than 71,000 Palestinians.
