US President Donald Trump has named the member of his Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ to implement US-brokered peace plan.
According to The Guardian, Trump has appointed the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and former British prime minister Tony Blair to a newly created Gaza “board of peace”, a body he claims will steer the next phase of reconstruction and governance in the war-ravaged territory.
The White House said the seven-strong “founding executive board” will also include Trump’s special envoy, the property developer Steve Witkoff; the World Bank president, Ajay Banga; and the president’s son-in-law and long-time adviser Jared Kushner. Trump himself will serve as chair, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks.
“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 White House statement said.
“The United States remains fully committed to supporting this transitional framework, working in close partnership with Israel, key Arab nations, and the international community.”
Blair’s inclusion is likely to prove contentious in the region. The former Labour leader remains a divisive figure in the Middle East for his role in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Soon after leaving office in 2007 he became special representative of the Quartet, a group composed of the US, EU, Russia and the UN seeking peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But he became seen as too close to the Israelis and stepped down in 2015.
Acknowledging that Blair remains a divisive figure, Trump conceded last October: “I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody.”
The president also appointed Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum as senior advisers to the board to oversee “day-to-day strategy and operations”. Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN envoy to the Middle East, will serve as the High Representative for Gaza.
