Argentina’s Javier Milei and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are among world leaders who have been invited to join Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace, as the US pushes ahead with its peace plan for the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
The Argentine president on Saturday thanked Trump for the invitation, saying it would be an honour to join. Turkey’s president was also invited to be a founding member of the council, Burhanettin Duran, head of Erdogan’s Communications office, said on X. They would be joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has accepted the offer to participate, a senior Canadian official has said.
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 honour 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.
On Friday, the White House announced an initial executive panel that would include US 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.
An International Stabilisation 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 signalled determination to achieve “full demilitarisation” of the entire Gaza Strip.
by Dan Williams, AFP
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