Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday morning that he has accepted an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join what Trump has dubbed the Board of Peace.
In his statement, Netanyahu did not say whether Israel intends to seek permanent membership in the body, a step that, according to published details, would require a payment of $1 billion. “The prime minister will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of world leaders,” his office said.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump
(Photo: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images/ AFP)
Earlier this week, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli urged Netanyahu to reject the proposal. “In my view, we should respond politely but negatively,” Chikli said in an interview with ynet. “It is impossible to sit in the same body with a Hamas supporter like Hakan Fidan. Turkey is inheriting Iran’s role. Today, Turkey is the greatest danger to the State of Israel, even more than Iran.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not officially confirmed that Turkey plans to join the Board of Peace.
Over the past week, it was reported that Trump invited dozens of world leaders to join the Board of Peace, including the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Australia, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Canada, Albania and Bahrain. In the invitation letters, Trump wrote that the board would be “one of a kind, like nothing that has ever existed before,” according to Reuters.
The Board of Peace was initially formulated as part of Trump’s plan to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. Over the weekend, it was officially announced as part of the transition to the plan’s second phase, which alongside rebuilding the Gaza Strip is meant to include the disarmament of Hamas.
Trump is set to chair the Board of Peace and has already signaled his intention to expand its mandate beyond Gaza, turning it into a body that would address conflicts around the world. Analysts have described the initiative as an attempt to create a rival framework to the United Nations, which Trump has frequently criticized as ineffective and failing to promote peace.
“I think it will start with Gaza, and later we will deal with other conflicts as they arise,” Trump told Reuters over the weekend. When asked about the board’s goals, he said it would address “countries that are going to war with each other.”
Reuters also reported this week that a draft charter of the Board of Peace states that Trump would serve as its chairman for life, including after he leaves office as president of the United States.
The draft charter emphasizes that the board’s work would expand to additional global conflicts, stating that “sustainable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions and the courage to abandon approaches and institutions that have failed too many times.” It adds that there is a “need for a more effective and agile international body for building peace.”
According to Reuters, the draft charter limits membership to three years unless a participating country pays $1 billion to finance the board’s activities, in which case it would receive permanent membership. “This is an offer of permanent membership to partner countries that demonstrate a deep commitment to peace, security and prosperity,” the White House said.