Israel invited to Trump Board of Peace as governments react cautiously

Israel has been invited to join President Trump’s newly proposed 'Board of Peace' (BoP), a U.S.-led body tied to a 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, but officials and diplomats reacted cautiously amid questions about the board’s mandate and legal standing. It was not immediately clear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the invitation.

The BoP is presented by the White House as the body that would supervise Gaza’s transitional governance and reconstruction, oversee the disarmament of Hamas, support the formation of a Palestinian committee in Gaza and coordinate an international security deployment. The plan is linked to a ceasefire framework that the United Nations Security Council endorsed in November, and U.S. officials have briefed allies on draft charter provisions that would govern membership and operations.

The reported draft charter envisions ordinary members serving three-year terms, and offers permanent membership to any state that contributes more than $1 billion in cash within the first year. It would hold at least annual voting meetings and give the chairman authority over agendas. Those financial and structural thresholds have provoked unease among diplomats who worry a funding-driven path to permanence could privilege wealthy states and complicate consensus.

The White House has named a founding executive committee to lead initial efforts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Tony Blair. Invitations were extended widely: officials say more than 60 countries received notices. Named invitees include Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, Thailand, the European Commission, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Egypt, Hungary, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey and India, among others. Several countries have publicly indicated acceptance, with Hungary, Vietnam and Morocco reported as having signed on. Confirmations vary across capitals, and the White House has not released a definitive membership list.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin received an invitation and that Moscow was reviewing the proposal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “studying all the details of the proposal and hopes to contact Washington to clarify all the nuances.” Observers noted reports of invitations to other leaders, including Kazakhstan’s president, but stressed media accounts and government acknowledgments have not produced a single, confirmed roster.

Domestically in Israel, the announcement set off sharp political responses. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X that “The Gaza Strip does not need any ‘administrative committee’ to oversee its ‘rehabilitation’ - it needs to be cleansed of Hamas terrorists.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid dismissed the U.S. executive committee announcement as a “diplomatic failure for Israel.” The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately comment on whether Israel would accept full membership.

European capitals displayed reluctance, with France saying it would not join “at this stage,” citing concerns about respect for U.N. principles and institutional coherence. International legal and diplomatic analysts flagged potential overlaps with U.N. structures and the Security Council, and raised questions about accountability, the mechanics of a large and ideologically diverse membership, and how reconstruction funds would be channeled.

U.S. officials indicated a formal membership list could be published in days, and that President Trump might hold a signing ceremony as early as the World Economic Forum in Davos. For now, the BoP’s emergence has shifted diplomatic calculations across capitals, touching on sovereignty, reconstruction financing and the contested international role in Gaza’s future governance.