Trump appoints Blair, Rubio, Kushner as Gaza 'Board of Peace' chairs

The US president invited the Egyptian and Turkish presidents to join the so-called ‘peace council,’ while excluding any Palestinian political figures  

News Desk - The Cradle

US President Donald Trump has named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff, and former UK prime minister Tony Blair as executive chairs of the so-called Gaza “Board of Peace,” the White House announced on 16 January.

"It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed," Trump announced via social media.

He added that the so-called Gaza peace plan had “OFFICIALLY entered the next phase,” unveiling the body as the centerpiece of the second phase of Washington’s postwar plan for the besieged enclave.

Other members of the executive board include US billionaire Marc Rowan, President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga, and Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.

The Trump-chaired board will reportedly oversee Gaza’s “temporary governance, reconstruction, and international financing,” while coordinating “security arrangements and humanitarian access.”

Key players behind aid distribution now shape Gaza's governing structure, under Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ recycling US-Israeli actors and mercenaries responsible for killing over 2,000 aid-seeking Palestinian civilians as part of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Trump appointed Major General Jasper Jeffers to command an International Stabilization Force (ISF) operating under the Board of Peace, coordinating with Israel and Egypt to enforce security and demilitarization under US oversight.

The White House said the force would work in coordination with Israel and Egypt and remain subordinate to the Board of Peace.

Turkiye confirmed on Saturday that Trump had invited President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the Board of Peace as a founding member, saying the initiative falls within “broader international efforts to stabilize Gaza” amid Israel's genocide of Palestinians. 

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received an invitation and is weighing whether to take part in the council.

While officials from Turkiye, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, and the UN were named to the Gaza Executive Board, no Palestinians were included among the members announced so far.

Palestinian resistance factions condemned the US plan as a rebranded occupation scheme that installs foreign forces to disarm resistance and govern Gaza under Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ achieving through international mandate what Israel failed to impose through genocide.