Netanyahu Joins Forces with Trump on New Peace Initiative Board

In a notable development from Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday his decision to join the Peace Board initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. This decision comes despite earlier reservations expressed by Netanyahu’s office regarding the composition of the board’s executive committee, which includes Turkey, a key regional competitor.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming his acceptance of Trump’s invitation to be part of this ambitious peace initiative. The Board of Peace, as conceptualized by Trump, was initially intended to be a small council of global leaders focusing on the Gaza ceasefire plan. However, the vision has expanded significantly, evolving into what resembles an alternative global conflict resolution body, akin to a mini United Nations Security Council.

The Trump administration has extended invitations to a wide array of nations, indicating its intention to address global conflicts through this platform. More details about this initiative are anticipated to be unveiled by Trump during his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, slated for Thursday.

While the official charter of the Board of Peace has yet to be released, a draft version accessed by The Associated Press suggests that President Trump will hold significant control over the board. According to the draft, a contribution of $1 billion would secure a country’s permanent membership on the board.

So far, eight countries, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina, and Belarus, have confirmed their participation in Trump’s peace initiative. This diverse group of nations indicates a broad interest in the potential of this new diplomatic venture.

So far, at least eight countries — Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina and Belarus have agreed to take part.

Invitation letters from Trump also have been sent to Paraguay’s leader Santiago Peña, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Plus, Russia, Israel, India, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union’s executive arm have said they received invitations.

The Kremlin is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in contacts with the U.S., Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Trump confirmed Monday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited.

It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.

The executive board’s members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters. Additional members include: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.

The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs.

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Associated Press writers Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Matthew Lee in Washington and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.