By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
U.S. President Donald Trump has been disclosing the membership of the Board of Peace and its subordinate committees piecemeal, but it’s possible to glean an idea of the key personnel who will play a role in the reconstruction of Gaza. The composition of the committees doesn’t please everyone, especially Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, so trouble may loom over the horizon.
The Board of Peace will set policy for the overall effort. To be chaired by Trump himself, the board’s membership will include the familiar trio of U.S. peacemakers: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña, and the United Kingdom’s former prime minister Tony Blair will provide international perspective, as will World Bank President Ajay Benga, a native of India who currently lives in the U.S. Nikolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat, who had served as the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, now will serve as the High Representative of the Board of Peace, the Board’s day-to-day representative on the ground. Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly is mulling over his invitation from Trump
Marc Rowan, the billionaire CEO of Apollo Global Management, also serves as the chair of the UJA-Federation of New York, and Robert Gabriel, Jr., America’s Deputy National Security Adviser, round out the known appointees to the Board of Peace.
An Executive Committee of the Board has been selected. It includes Banga, Blair, Gabriel, Kushner, Mladenov, Rowan, Rubio, and Witkoff.
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A Palestinian Technocratic Government, otherwise to be known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, will be led by Ali Sha’ath, a former deputy transportation minister for the Palestinian Authority.
According to the White House, Sha’ath is a “widely respected technocratic leader who will oversee the restoration of core public services, the rebuilding of civil institutions, and the stabilization of daily life in Gaza, while laying the foundation for long-term, self-sustaining governance.”
Mladenov will serve as liaison between the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
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Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers will serve as commander of the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) peace-keeping mission. He currently commands the U.S. Special Operations Command Central.
Jeffers will command troops of the ISF, which will be contributed by countries in the Middle East.
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A Gaza Executive Board will support the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the Board of Peace’s High Representative Mladenov. Announced members are Blair; Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; Reem Al Hashimy; UAE’s minister for international cooperation; Sigrid Kaag, U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; Mladenov; Hassan Rashad, Egypt’s intelligence chief; and Ali Al-Thawadi, Qatar’s diplomat and adviser to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on Saturday, “The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy. The prime minister has instructed the foreign affairs minister [Gideon Sa’ar] to contact the U.S secretary of state [Marco Rubio] on this matter.”
Specifically, Israel’s government objects to the inclusion of Turkiye’s foreign minister and Qatar’s diplomat because both nations supported Hamas during the Gaza War. It also objects to the inclusion of Egypt’s intelligence chief.
Hamas and its rival Fatah, the main party in the Palestine Liberation Organization, have differed over the composition of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.