Donald Trump’s Board of Peace convened for the first time Thursday, but some of the most significant absences at the table were as telling as those who showed up. Key US allies including France, Norway, and Sweden declined to join the board, while Palestinians — whose future the board is explicitly debating — were not invited at all.
The founding membership of more than two dozen nations includes Israel, regional players involved in the ceasefire negotiations, and countries whose leaders are either supporters of Trump or hoping to gain his favor. Israel has expressed suspicion about the presence of Qatar and Turkey, both of which have longstanding relationships with Hamas and played important roles in the ceasefire negotiations.
Trump’s ambitions for the board are extraordinary in scope. He envisions it not merely managing Gaza’s transition but challenging the United Nations Security Council’s traditional role in resolving international conflicts. He told reporters this week that it has “the chance to be the most consequential board ever assembled of any kind” — language that signals his intention to position it as a new global institution.
On the ground in Gaza, the challenges are daunting and the progress modest. Hamas has disarmed neither its heavy weapons nor its rifles. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said there will be no reconstruction until Hamas fully disarms. A transitional Palestinian committee sits in Egypt, unable to enter Gaza. International stabilization forces have not deployed, and the countries being asked to contribute have made clear they will not take part in Hamas disarmament.
Whether a board that lacks the participation of key allies, excludes the people it is governing, and faces deep divisions among its own members can deliver results in Gaza will be the first major test of Trump’s alternative vision for global conflict resolution.
Trump Bets His Foreign Policy Legacy on a Board Most of the World Hasn’t Joined
