Israel objects to line-up of Trump panel for post-war Gaza

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) at a press conference in Washington last year. Photo / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP

Israel said it objected to the line-up of a Gaza panel that will operate under United States President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which oversees post-war governance in the Palestinian territory.

The panel, known as the Gaza executive board, notably includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Qatari official and was announced by the White House on Friday (local time).

The Board of Peace began to take shape as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Trump had already declared himself the chair of the body, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory, much of which was reduced to rubble during two years of relentless Israeli bombardment.

The US President also named to the Board of Peace his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff – most of whom are also on the Gaza executive board.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not co-ordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy. The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter.”

The moves came after the Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza under the oversight of the Board of Peace held its first meeting in Cairo, attended by Kushner.

Worldwide invites

In Canada, a senior aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intended to accept Trump’s invitation, while in Turkey, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been asked to become a “founding member” of the board.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was “studying” a request for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to join.

Sharing an image of the invitation letter, Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X that it would be an honour to participate in the initiative.

In a statement sent to AFP, Blair said: “I thank President Trump for his leadership in establishing the Board of Peace and am honoured to be appointed to its Executive Board”.

Blair is a controversial figure in the Middle East because of his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Trump himself said last year that he wanted to make sure Blair was an “acceptable choice to everybody”.

Blair spent years focused on the Israeli-Palestinian issue as a representative of the “Middle East Quartet” – the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia – after leaving Downing Street in 2007.

The White House said the Board of Peace will take on issues such as “governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilisation”.

The other members of the board so far are World Bank 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 National Security Council.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad criticised the composition of the Board of Peace, saying it served Israel’s interests.

The board “came in accordance with Israeli criteria and to serve the interests of the occupation”, the group said in a statement.

Israeli strikes

Washington has said the Gaza plan had gone on to a second phase – from implementing the ceasefire to disarming Hamas militants, whose October 2023 attack on Israel prompted the massive Israeli offensive.

Trump named US Major-General Jasper Jeffers to head the International Stabilisation Force, which will be tasked with providing security in Gaza and training a new police force to succeed Hamas.

Jeffers, from special operations in US Central Command, in late 2024 was put in charge of monitoring a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which has continued periodic strikes aimed at Hezbollah militants.

Gaza native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath was earlier tapped to head the governing committee.

Trump, a real estate developer, has previously mused about turning devastated Gaza into a Riviera-style area of resorts, although he has backed away from calls to forcibly displace the population.

-Agence France-Presse