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Israel on Saturday rejected the composition of a Gaza oversight panel operating under US President Donald Trump's newly formed Board of Peace, citing a lack of coordination and policy conflicts with the inclusion of Turkish and Qatari officials in the post-war governance structure.
The Gaza executive board, announced by the White House on Friday, includes Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Qatari official among its members tasked with overseeing the Palestinian territory following more than two years of Israeli military operations. The board operates as a subsidiary body to Trump's broader Board of Peace initiative, which began taking shape Saturday with invitations extended to leaders from Egypt, Türkiye, Argentina and Canada.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying the executive board's composition "was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy." Netanyahu instructed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to contact US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the matter.
Trump, who chairs the Board of Peace, has assembled a team that includes Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Most of these figures also serve on the Gaza executive board, which held its inaugural meeting in Cairo with Kushner in attendance.
Several world leaders responded to Trump's invitations Saturday, with varying degrees of commitment to the initiative.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney indicated through a senior aide his intention to accept the role, while Argentine President Javier Milei called participation "an honor" in a post on X accompanied by the invitation letter. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received an invitation to become a founding member, according to a presidential spokesman, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was reviewing a similar request, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.
Blair, whose appointment Trump sought to make "acceptable to everybody" in previous statements, issued a statement thanking the president for his leadership. The former prime minister's Middle East credentials stem from years representing the Middle East Quartet, comprising the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia, after leaving office in 2007, though his involvement in the 2003 Iraq invasion remains contentious in the region.
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The White House described the Board of Peace's mandate as encompassing governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction and capital mobilization for Gaza, where Israeli bombardment has reduced much of the infrastructure to rubble.
Additional board members include World Bank President Ajay Banga, billionaire financier Marc Rowan, and Robert Gabriel, a Trump aide serving on the National Security Council.
Washington characterized the Gaza plan as entering a second phase, transitioning from ceasefire implementation to disarming Hamas, the militant group whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Israeli offensive. Trump on Friday appointed US Major General Jasper Jeffers to head the International Stabilization Force, which will provide security in Gaza and train a new police force. Former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, a Gaza native, was previously selected to head the governing committee.
Trump has previously suggested developing Gaza into a resort destination, though he has distanced himself from proposals involving forced population displacement.
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