U.S. President Donald Trump invited his Anatolian counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to join the Board of Peace, the committee tasked with supervising Washington’s 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip, the Turkish Presidency’s Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran announced on Saturday.
On Jan. 16, Trump “sent a letter inviting our President, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to participate as a founding member in the Board of Peace,” Duran tweeted.
Taking to Social Truth overnight Thursday, Trump made a formal announcement of the Board of Peace.
“I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” the president wrote.
The White House released a partial list of the members of the board on Friday night, while unveiling three committees that will oversee its activities.
The founding executive board is “composed of leaders with experience across diplomacy, development, infrastructure and economic strategy,” the White House stated on its website.
Its members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.
The second committee, named the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), consists of 15 Palestinian technocratic members and will be led by former Palestinian Authority Deputy Minister of Transportation Ali Shaath.
The White House, which referred to Sha’ath as “a widely respected technocratic leader,” said that he will oversee the restoration of public services, the rebuilding of civil institutions and the stabilization of daily life in Gaza.
Speaking with the Palestinian Basma Radio on Wednesday, Sha’ath said that his committee will initially start governing the approximately 54% territory in Gaza held by the Israel Defense Forces, according to AFP.
“The commission is not an army; it is 15 Palestinian experts in reconstruction, assisted by staff—brains more than weapons,” he was quoted as saying.
The NCAG, however, will hold no political authority and will report directly to the Executive Board, according to Middle East Eye.
High representative for Gaza
United Arab Emirates-based Bulgarian politician and former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov will be the high representative for Gaza, serving as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers has been appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), the White House said. He will lead security operations, oversee Gaza’s demilitarization and supervise the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials.
The third committee, the Gaza Executive Board, will assist the high representative and the NCAG.
Its members include Witkoff and Kushner, as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi and Egyptian General Intelligence Service Director Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad, former U.N. envoy and Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag and Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay.
Washington added that additional members of the Board of Peace will be announced in the coming weeks.
In a subsequent post on Friday, Trump said: “With the support of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, we will secure a COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarization Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel. Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honor its commitments, including the return of the final body to Israel, and proceed without delay to full Demilitarization. As I have said before, they can do this the easy way or the hard way. The people of Gaza have suffered long enough. The time is NOW.”
Trump’s remarks came in the backdrop of Witkoff’s announcement on Wednesday that Phase 2 of the Trump administration’s peace plan has commenced.
Witkoff stated that “Phase 2 establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel.”
