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Donald Trump has named a “peace board” to oversee the rehabilitation of Gaza after the war and said Sir Tony Blair, private equity boss Mark Roven and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would be among its members.
The board, which Trump will chair, does not include any Palestinians, but does include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a US national security adviser, as members of the “Founding Executive Board”.
Former British prime ministers Blair and Kushner were previously involved in Trump’s peace plans for Gaza. Rowan is the boss of Apollo Global Management, a large private equity firm, and is extensively engaged in philanthropy in Israel.
Trump first proposed a peace board in his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, implementation of which has been stalled since a weak ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.
The ceasefire ended two years of heavy bombing in Israel’s war with Hamas, ensured the release of Israeli hostages and saw an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The White House said a “National Committee for Gaza Governance” would be established, led by Ali Shath, a former Palestinian Authority official and the only Palestinian named in Trump’s plan, that would “oversee the restoration of core public services, the rebuilding of civilian institutions, and the stabilization of daily life in Gaza, while laying the foundation for long-term, self-reliant governance”.
It added that Bulgaria’s former defense minister and UN envoy Nikolay Mladenov would serve as “High Representative for Gaza” and be “liaison on the ground” between the peace board and the committee.
According to the announcement, a separate “Gaza Executive Committee” will be established to “support” the Office of the High Representative and the NCAG, consisting of Peace Board members as well as a number of other figures – including Mladenov, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Sigrid Kaag and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.
The White House said Arye Lightstone, who was instrumental in planning and promoting the failed aid delivery scheme known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and Josh Gruenbaum, a former official at the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency, would be “senior advisers” to the peace board responsible for “day-to-day strategy and operations.” The committee’s relationship with Mladenov and NCAG was unclear.
The statement named Major General Jasper Jeffs, a US military special operations commander, as head of the “International Stabilization Force”, which will “lead security operations” and “support comprehensive demilitarization” in Gaza.
Trump promised to announce a force equipped with troops from dozens of Middle Eastern and other partner countries, but no country has committed military personnel to serve in Gaza. Key Arab allies, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have said they will not deploy their troops under any circumstances.
The White House did not immediately respond to a question about who would fill the ranks of the ISF.
The White House said it would announce additional members of the Executive Board and the Gaza Executive Board in the coming weeks.
