The US president Donald Trump’s administration has proposed that countries pay $1 billion to have a permanent seat on a proposed body that he calls the “Board of Peace for Gaza,” which has a mandate at addressing the conflict in the region, US press had reported. A proposed board charter, according to a draft charter that was first reported by Bloomberg and cited by Gulf Today, details the agenda of the initiative and the financial terms of membership.
Who Would be on the Board?
The White House has extended an invitation to a number of global leaders to sit on the proposed board led through President Trump. What he supposedly invited are:
- Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
- Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister
- Mark Carney of Canada
Other global leaders are also said to have been invited. Each country would be represented under the draft charter under the head of state and be the subject of a three-year term. However, any country that contributes more than $1 billion in the first 12 months following the charter’s implementation will be allowed to retain its post after the three-year limit has been met, effectively lacking a defined appointment term.
What the Gaza Peace Board will become.
The draft charter stated that the board of peace could act as an international institution that worked to improve security across the board and return to a semblance of legitimate governance and sustainable peace in areas that were touched by or faced the threat of war. The structure would include:
- A main board
- A Palestinian committee of technocrats for governing Gaza in the wake of the war
- An executive advisory board, intended to consult — not decide
A mandate and Charter language.
The charter specifies that the board seeks to: “To promote security, restore trustworthy governance and develop lasting peace in areas of conflict/recovery.”
Reflections on Current International Systems.
The draft charter appears to be taking aim at the existing international bodies and institutions — among them the United Nations — claiming that the board will require the “courage to depart from frequently failing institutions.” This sort of language chimes with Trump’s decades-long condemnation of the U.N. Trump had announced earlier in the year that the United States would dismantle 66 international organisations and treaties, nearly half of which are linked to the UN system.
🪑 Right to Membership and Governance.
Under the proposed rules: membership would be by invitation from the board’s president
The president could remove members ,And if Trump ends up leaving the board as president, he might get to appoint his successor
Board Takes Shape.
The move became more in focus over the weekend when leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were said to have been invited to the meeting. Trump even names many of the renowned names to the committee which comprises:
- Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
- Tony Blair, former British prime minister
- Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law
- US special envoy Steve Witkoff
Israel’s Response.
The report cites Israel’s dissatisfaction over how the proposed Gaza executive board is set up, noting in particular the inclusion of:
- Foreign minister Hakan Fidan of Turkey
- Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi
both of whom are responsible for roles in the structure of the governance mechanism that exists in the peace board.
