The White House unveils a new pair of committees that will be tasked with operationalizing the vision of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which is responsible for overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.
The first is a founding Executive Board composed of leaders with experience in diplomacy, development, infrastructure and economic strategy. Its members will be US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, top Trump aide Jared Kushner, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga and Trump’s former deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
“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,” the White House says.
A second committee of senior officials called the Gaza Executive Board has also been established, with the White House saying it will “help support effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza.”
This second committee’s members will be Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, senior Qatari diplomat Ali Thawadi, Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, UAE Minister of International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy, Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, former UN humanitarian coordinator Sigrid Kaag, and former UN envoy to the MidWhite House unveils two new committees that will support Gaza Board of Peace’s workdle East Nickolay Mladenov,
Mladenov will also serve as the High Representative for Gaza. “In this capacity, he will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the Nation Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG),” the White House says. The latter committee of Palestinian technocrats held its first meeting with Mladenov in Cairo on Thursday, during which Kushner and Witkoff joined virtually.
Mladenov “will support the Board’s oversight of all aspects of Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and development, while ensuring coordination across civilian and security pillars,” the White House says.
It’s not fully clear from the White House announcement what the practical differences are between the founding Executive Board and the Gaza Executive Board, which also share similar names.
The White House says additional members of both executive boards will be announced in the coming weeks, and two of Trump’s current aides, Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum, have been appointed as senior advisers to the Board of Peace.
Both boards are expected to work closely with the NCAG led by former Palestinian Authority deputy planning minister Ali Shaath, who the White House calls “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.”
“Dr. Sha’ath brings deep experience in public administration, economic development, and international engagement, and is widely respected for his pragmatic, technocratic leadership and understanding of Gaza’s institutional realities,” the White House says.
As for the yet-to-be-established International Stabilization Force, which will be tasked with providing security for the Strip and gradually phasing out the IDF, the White House announces that Central Command Special Operations Commander Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers has been appointed commander of the ISF, “where he will lead security operations, support comprehensive demilitarization, and enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials.”
The US had struggled to convince countries to contribute troops to the ISF board, amid heavy speculation that Hamas will disarm and that the IDF will further withdraw from Gaza. One of the two countries Washington had publicly touted, Azerbaijan, announced earlier this month that it would not be participating.
US officials briefing reporters earlier this week insisted that they now have enough countries offering troops and that an announcement can be expected in about two weeks.
Moreover, one of the briefers appeared to confirm The Times of Israel’s reporting on the shrinking of the ISF mandate to more limited tasks such as securing borders and humanitarian aid, rather than kinetic activity to disarm Hamas.
“A lot of the work inside Gaza will be done by the local Palestinian police forces, which we think is the most important element of this plan, so we’ve been putting a lot of time into that,” the US official said.
Still left to unveil is the Board of Peace, which is slated to meet next week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and be comprised of world leaders.
The Times of Israel reported last month that the US had informed interlocutors that it secured commitments from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany to have their leaders join Trump on the Board of Peace.
“The Board of Peace will play an essential role in fulfilling all 20 points of the President’s plan, providing strategic oversight, mobilizing international resources, and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development,” the White House says.
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