Israel has joined Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, Prime Minister Netanyahu says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting in Washington to discuss Iran.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – Israel has joined US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb 11 during his visit to Washington where he met Mr Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Visuals released earlier on Feb 11 after the Netanyahu-Rubio meeting showed them holding a document with Mr Netanyahu’s signature on Israel joining the board.
Mr Netanyahu said on X he “signed Israel’s accession as a member of the “Board of Peace.””
He later discussed Iran with Mr Trump.
A United Nations Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorised the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October 2025
Under Mr Trump’s Gaza plan, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Mr Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.
The board will hold its first meeting
Many rights experts say that Mr Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s affairs resembled a colonial structure.
Israel’s presence on the board is expected to bring further criticism as the board does not include a Palestinian.
Countries have reacted cautiously to Mr Trump’s invitation to join the board launched in late January.
Many experts are concerned that the board could undermine the UN.
While some of Washington’s Middle Eastern allies have joined, many of its traditional Western allies have stayed away
The ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with at least 580 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since it began in October 2025, according to Palestinian and Israeli tallies, respectively.
The next phase of Mr Trump’s Gaza plan calls for resolving complex issues like Hamas’ disarmament, which the group has long rejected, further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.
Israel’s assault has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population.
Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defence after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack. REUTERS
