Benjamin Netanyahu says he has accepted an invitation to join Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, in a move likely to spark outrage among Arab nations.
A statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said he had “accepted the invitation of US President Donald Trump” to become a member of the board, just days after Israel objected to the plan.
The “Board of Peace” was originally laid out by Mr Trump as a small group of world leaders who would oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, which was destroyed during Israel’s two-year war on Hamas.
But the administration has since invited dozens of nations and businessmen to join the board who were not previously connected to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
The Israeli prime minister’s invitation has also raised questions about the objectivity of the board as there remains an outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include allegations of using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population, which Israel denies.
Members of the Israeli prime minister’s own government have criticised his inclusion, with far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for Israel to take unilateral responsibility for Gaza’s future.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have said Netanyahu’s role on the board is an obstacle to progressing phase two of the Trump administration’s peace plan for the territory, according to Al Jazeera.
A ceasefire agreed between the IDF and Hamas has failed to stem violence in the territory, with more than 450 citizens of Gazans killed since it was announced in October last year. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Mr Netanyahu’s office had earlier criticised who had been invited onto the board’s executive committee, which includes regional rival Turkey.
The Israeli prime minister joins a list of controversial leaders who have been invited to join the board, such as Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko both accepted invites. Russian president Vladimir Putin, also wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, has also allegedly been invited to join.
The Kremlin has acknowledged an invitation to the board and is “studying the details” to seek clarity of “all the nuances”, according to spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, also invited to join the board, told media on Tuesday that it was hard for him to imagine being together with Russia on this or another board.
Invitation letters from Mr Trump also have been sent to Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer, Paraguay’s leader Santiago Peña, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sir Keir’s spokesperson said the United Kingdom was considering the invitation but had concerns about Russia’s potential involvement.
So far, Norway, Sweden and France have said they will not join the board for now as tensions rise between the US and Nato over Trump’s desire to own Greenland. Italy is also set to reject the invitation, according to national paper Corriere della Sera.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday: “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organisation as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”
Mr Trump responded to news that French president Emmanuel Macron was unlikely to join by telling reporters: “Nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.
“I’ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and Champagnes and he’ll join,” Trump told reporters. “But he doesn’t have to join.”
Executive board members include US 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 Mr Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
The board will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will run Gaza’s day-to-day affairs and Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and UN Middle East envoy, will serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing daily matters.
Mr Trump is set to announce the Board of Peace on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
