What did Trump say about the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’?
Trump has said that members of the Gaza “Board of Peace” have been selected and will be announced shortly, adding that he would be the chair.
In a social media post, Trump claimed it would be “the greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled”.
“As chairman of the board, I’m backing a Palestinian technocratic govt and the national committee to govern gaza during its transition. With the support of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, we will secure a comprehensive demilitarisation agreement with Hamas,” he wrote.
This board is expected to oversee Gaza’s post-war transition and supervise a newly established 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee responsible for day-to-day governance in the enclave.
Gaza reacts to Trump’s ‘board of peace’
“A lot of political decisions are distant from the reality faced in Gaza… our daily life that is filled with blockades, fear, loss, tents, and a terrible humanitarian situation,” said Arwa Ashour, a freelance journalist and writer based in Gaza City. “Even when decisions are made to ease the suffering, they are obstructed by the Israeli occupation authorities.”
“People want everything back like it was before the war: schools, hospitals, travel,” said Arwa Ashour, a freelance journalist and writer based in Gaza City. “If the board of peace is going to resolve all these crises, then we welcome it. But if it’s unable to do so, then what is its benefit
Palestinians carry plastic jerrycans filled with water amid stormy weather at a displacement camp in Gaza City on Tuesday
Ashour explained that after two years of war and more than 18 years of governance in the Palestinian enclave by Hamas, there is a desire for change in Gaza.
“People want to be part of the process of creating the future, not only to accept the implementation of decisions that have already been made,” she said.
The governance model envisaged in the second phase of the ceasefire plan does have a Palestinian component. Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister, will head the Palestinian technocratic committee that will manage daily life. But that committee will be overseen by the Board of Peace, to be led by Bulgaria’s former foreign and defence minister, Nickolay Mladenov.
Mladenov – who has worked as a United Nations diplomat in the Middle East – is seen as an administrator, but one who may not be capable of pushing back against Israel and representing Palestinians in Gaza.
“Decisions made without the meaningful participation of those most affected reproduce the same power structures that enabled this occupation and genocide,” Maha Hussaini, head of media and public engagement at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, told Al Jazeera. “Excluding Palestinians in Gaza from shaping their future strips them of agency and turns reconstruction and governance into tools of control rather than recovery.”
For Hussaini, justice after a war in which Israel has killed at least 71,400 Palestinians and destroyed vast swathes of the territory cannot be ignored.
“Peace does not mean silence after bombardment, nor a pause between wars,” she said. “For Gaza, peace means safety, dignity, and freedom from collective punishment. It also means justice: recognising the harm suffered, restoring the rights of victims, and holding perpetrators accountable. Without justice, what is called ‘peace’ becomes only a temporary arrangement that leaves the genocide intact.”
Palestinian political analyst Ahmed Fayyad said that ultimately, Palestinians have little choice but to go along with Mladenov and the Board of Peace model, even if there is a sense that they are handing over the administration of Gaza to foreigners.
