In a surprising diplomatic move, former U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a significant invitation to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, urging him to participate in efforts to stabilize the tense situation in Gaza amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The initiative, spearheaded by Trump, involves the formation of a ‘Board of Peace.’ This board is tasked with implementing a comprehensive 20-point plan aimed at providing strategic oversight, marshaling international resources, and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from a period of conflict to one of peace and development. The White House has emphasized the importance of this board’s role in facilitating a sustainable peace process.

The call to action has been extended to several international leaders, including Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The inclusion of such diverse figures underscores the global significance of the peace efforts.

Despite the urgency conveyed in the invitation, which was received by Albanese early Monday, the Australian leader has yet to make a definitive response. His office has confirmed that he is still considering the proposal.

When approached for further comment by the Daily Mail on Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s office referred back to his statements made during an interview with ABC Sydney on Monday. “We’ve received correspondence from the President that arrived, I think, last night,” Albanese remarked, indicating the matter is under careful consideration.

‘We’ve received correspondence from the President that arrived, I think, last night,’ Albanese said.

‘That’s something we haven’t had time to consider. We’ll consider all of these approaches respectfully and through our proper processes.’

However, experts have likened the offer to one made in the Hollywood film The Godfather: the Prime Minister cannot refuse for fear of repercussions.

Donald Trump has offered Anthony Albanese a seat on the ‘Board of Peace’ which will complete his 20-point plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip

Experts have likened the offer to one made in the Hollywood film The Godfather: the prime minister cannot refuse for fear of repercussions (pictured, Marlon Brando in The Godfather)

‘Anthony Albanese being invited to join Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is like The Godfather movie, an offer he can’t refuse,’ Michael Shoebridge, director of defence and security think tank Strategic Analysis Australia, told the Daily Mail.

‘If he says no, he’s likely to have Donald Trump act vindictively against Australia.

‘But if he says yes, he’s signing up to a group where Donald Trump gets to decide what they do and what they don’t do.

‘He’s also signing up to handing over, probably, $1.5billion in the first year for Trump to use as he will.’

The Trump administration has reportedly asked countries to contribute at least US$1billion to become permanent board members.

The risk, Mr Shoebridge said, is that it will give the US President a ‘reason to victimise’ Australia if Albanese refuses the offer.

‘Accepting means avoiding trouble rather than creating good things,’ he said.

‘It’s a pattern where Donald Trump wants to dictate what others do, and he knows he’s put Mr Albanese in a very awkward position because a refusal will offend.’

Albanese said his office will consider the offer respectfully and through ‘proper processes’

Displaced Palestinian families living in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip try to carry on with their daily lives under harsh conditions amid the rubble left behind by Israeli attacks

Mr Shoebridge said ‘retribution’ can manifest as ‘petulance’ about the refusal to award Trump a Nobel Peace Prize, or through introducing tariffs against European nations and the UK, as he did after they refused to support the US ‘buying back’ Greenland.

‘The problem with opposing Trump as a US ally is that the alliance matters little, but offending him matters a lot,’ he said.

‘I think there’s a high risk that Trump will take it personally if Albanese says “no”.

‘But if Albanese says yes, he knows he’s signing up to some potentially dangerous construct where he’s along for the ride with whatever Trump decides to do next.

‘Albanese has a bigger problem than whether he says yes or no to the Board of Peace, and that is that Australia’s major security partner is now coercive and unpredictable.’

The offer comes a year after the White House increased pressure on other nations to boost their foreign aid spending.

On day one of his second term, Trump signed a stop‑work order at the world’s biggest foreign aid agency, USAID, and froze its multibillion‑dollar budget.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong marginally lifted Australia’s spending on development assistance at last year’s budget, though not enough to keep pace with inflation.

Lacking basic necessities, the families shelter in makeshift tents set up near their destroyed homes in the northern Gaza Strip

The United Nations Security Council has approved a plan that opens a pathway for an international force to enter the Gaza Strip.

It has also signed off on the Board of Peace to provide oversight of the war-torn territory during reconstruction efforts. 

Other members of the board would include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Israel has said it is opposed to some of the world leaders joining Trump’s Board of Peace, although it did not specify which appointees it rejected.

Its government said several of the proposed appointments were ‘not coordinated with Israel and were contrary to its policy’.