United States President Donald Trump has started inviting world leaders and other prominent figures to be part of his so-called “”Peace Council”, outlines a comprehensive vision for a long-term organization that responds to global conflicts beyond Gaza.
As part of that, Trump had initially unveiled the board Second stage A cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which envisions the organization overseeing “governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilization” in the enclave.
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But letters written by Trump, which appeared on social media on Saturday inviting two leaders to be part of the board — Argentina’s president, Javier Mille, and Paraguay’s leader, Santiago Peña — pointed to broader ambitions. According to several reports, the so-called “Charter” accompanying the letter also points to lofty goals.
In Trump’s letter to Miley, the US president said the board would work to “strengthen peace in the Middle East” while at the same time “launching a bold new approach to resolving global conflicts”.
The Financial Times, meanwhile, cites the accompanying “Charter” as saying that “the Peace Council is an international organization that seeks to restore stability, credible and legitimate governance and secure sustainable peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”.
“Sustainable peace requires pragmatic decisions, common sense solutions and the courage to move away from approaches and institutions that have often failed,” the charter, which did not directly refer to Gaza, said, according to the newspaper.
Two diplomatic sources also told Reuters news agency that the invitations included a “charter” that laid out a broad mandate for the body.
“This is a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN Charter,” a diplomat with knowledge of the letter told the news agency.
Meanwhile, a senior US official told the Associated Press news agency that an expanded role for the peacekeeping mission remained “aspirational”.
The official added that Trump and his advisers believe such a role is possible, especially as Washington and other UN members have repeatedly expressed frustration with the international organization.
However, the official said the peacekeeping council was not intended to replace the UN.
Gaza Focus
To be sure, the Trump administration has so far said publicly that the peace process will initially focus on Gaza.
On Friday, Trump announced that former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair will be among the board’s founding executive members, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Mark Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, and Robert Gabriel, US Deputy National Security Advisor, were announced at the start.
Many of these individuals were also named to a separate “Gaza Executive Board”, set up to oversee a technocratic committee of the Palestinians, called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). The committee is expected to handle day-to-day administration in Gaza on behalf of Hamas.
The 11-member executive board includes Blair, Kushner and Witkoff, as well as Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Al Thawadi, United Nations Middle East Peace Coordinator Sigrid Kag, United Arab Emirates Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimi and Gairot Israel Billian Yaqbari.
Beyond Argentina’s Mille and Pena, Turkey and Egypt have confirmed their respective leaders, inviting Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to join the wider peace circle. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also invited to represent the EU, an EU official said.
Four sources told Reuters the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada had also been invited to sit on the board, although there was no official confirmation.
The White House said it would announce more members in the coming weeks.
Still, the board members’ initial announcement sparked outrage among many in the Middle East for not including the Palestinians, instead encouraging staunch supporters of Israel.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday criticized the Gaza executive board, saying its structure was “not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policies”.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office did not explain exactly what he objected to about the board’s makeup.