Israel objects to US-selected leaders for Gaza 'board of peace'

Israel has objected to the White House’s selection of world leaders for a so-called Gaza “board of peace”, which is meant to temporarily oversee governance and reconstruction in the strip, the White House and other sources said. Announced appointments and invitations over the last two days included Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and Argentina’s Javier Milei.

Israel said some of the appointments were “not coordinated with Israel and were contrary to its policy”, without specifying who it objected to. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli foreign minister to contact the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio. Donald Trump described the group as the “greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled, at any time, any place”, and the board forms part of his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.

A seven-member “founding executive board” named Rubio, the US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Tony Blair, with Trump as chair; Blair called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) a “massive step forward” and said it gave hope to people in Gaza and Israelis.

The announcement comes amid difficult conditions in Gaza. Despite a ceasefire announced in October, the source said Israel continues to kill Palestinians and that at least 463 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the nominal truce.

Key Topics

World, Israel, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Tony Blair, Jared Kushner