The White House issued a statement on Jan. 16 on the Gaza Board of Peace and other elements of the move to Phase Two of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, reporting the appointment of members of two executive committees.
The first executive committee will function under the Board of Peace itself, with Trump as its chairman. The statement describes its mandate as to exert leadership in diplomacy, development, infrastructure, and economic strategy. The appointed members include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but also the infamous former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, billionaire hedge fund speculator Marc Rowan, and World Bank President Ajay Banga. Robert Gabriel is on the Board, a deputy national security advisor who has worked with Trump since the 2016 election campaign. The statement says: “Each Executive Board member will oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.”
A Gaza Executive Board will advise Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, who has been appointed the High Representative for Gaza. He will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the Gaza transitional government. The membership of the board overlaps the executive committee, to include Witkoff, Kushner, Blair and Rowan, but it also includes a number of European diplomats, among them Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
The White House statement nowhere mentions Palestinians or Palestine. Typical of the language: “The Board will help support effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza.”
Another appointment announced is that of Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers to be commander of the International Stabilization Force. Jeffers is a career special operations officer who has served as Co-Chair for the Implementation and Monitoring Mechanism of the Cessation of Hostilities in Lebanon since November 2024.
Today, Turkish media report that Trump has invited President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan to be a founding member of the Board of Peace. Türkiye’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said in a statement that Trump, acting in his capacity as the chair of the Executive Board guiding the Board of Peace, sent a letter dated Jan. 16, formally proposing Erdogan’s participation in the body as a founding member, reported Hurriyet Daily News. Duran added that the board will assume responsibility for both security arrangements and the rebuilding process in Gaza.
