Big names on Trump’s peace panel face huge challenges in Gaza

The White House has announced the first members of its Gaza “Board of Peace”, and the list of names will do little to dispel the criticism from some quarters that the US president’s plan resembles, at its heart, a colonial solution imposed over the heads of the Palestinians.

There are still several unknowns – namely who else might be added, and the exact structure of what is currently a rather complicated layout.

So far, no Palestinian names are included on the two separate senior boards that have been officially unveiled.

One is a “founding Executive Board”, with a high-level focus on investment and diplomacy. The other, called the “Gaza Executive Board”, is responsible for overseeing all on-the-ground work of yet another administrative group, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).

That committee is made up of supposedly technocratic, apolitical Palestinians, led by Dr Ali Shaath, a civil engineer by training who’s held ministerial positions in the Palestinian Authority.

But of the seven members of the founding Executive Board, with President Trump as the chairman, six are Americans – including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other members of Trump’s inner circle like his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, who is US Special Envoy to the Middle East, but also a friend of the president and a fellow real estate developer.

Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, is something of an exception as an Indian-born US citizen. Sir Tony Blair, meanwhile, is a former UK Prime Minister, and his inclusion is likely to further fuel concerns about how the Board of Peace will operate.

Yakir Gabay, a businessman born in Israel and now based in Cyprus is the only Israeli member.

In its statement announcing the names, the White House said those chosen will work to ensure “effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza”.

Names of that supreme body have not yet been announced, but the current UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Canadian leader Mark Carney have reportedly been invited to join.

The UN estimates around 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged and families who have survived the war are now struggling with the winter weather, and a lack of food and shelter.

BBC World

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