Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have been asked by US President Donald Trump to join his ‘Board of Peace’, as the White House tries to push the fragile ceasefire in Gaza into its next phase.
A draft charter for the organisation, which will be chaired by Mr Trump, has been sent to a number of world leaders — including Canada’s Mark Carney, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
It is unclear exactly how many countries have received invitations, but reports suggest dozens are on the list.
The text of the document, first revealed by Bloomberg, stated that each country which accepts the invitation would be represented by its leader, and would be given a term of “no more than three years”.
If a country wants to stay as part of the Board of Peace beyond that, it would have to make a cash contribution to its efforts of $US1 billion ($1.49 billion).
The US-brokered agreement includes plans to rebuild Gaza in coming years. (Reuters: Haseeb Alwazeer)
Reports suggested the draft charter makes no specific mention of Gaza, suggesting President Trump may want its scope to go beyond the war-ravaged enclave that served as the catalyst for its creation, and it also does not detail what the membership fee for countries wanting to remain part of the organisation would fund.
Decisions of the board would be made by a vote of its members, subject to the approval of the chair — Donald Trump.
Netanyahu criticises lack of Israeli input
The development comes as the layers of bureaucracy being imposed over the future of Gaza become more clear, and the White House says the second phase of the ceasefire in the strip has begun.
White House names some leaders with roles in next steps in Gaza
Underneath the Board of Peace will be its executive board, which includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President of the World Bank Ajay Banga.
Former UN official Nickolay Mladenov would also be in that group, taking on the role of ‘High Representative for Gaza’.
His work, and that of a Palestinian technocratic government working to govern Gaza, would be supported by another group — known as the Gaza Executive Board.
The composition of that organisation has already been criticised by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the announcement was made by the US without coordination from his government.
Gaza’s infrastructure was largely destroyed by intense Israeli bombardment following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. (Reuters: Mahmoud Issa)
The sticking point for Israel is the inclusion of Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi on the committee. Both countries have been highly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza throughout the war.
The Israeli leader said he would complain to the United States about their involvement.
One October 7 hostage yet to be returnedÂ
The Palestinian-led technocratic government, which the White House called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, met for the first time in Cairo over the weekend.
It is led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank. Hamas is expected to hand over governance of the strip to the committee, as part of the deal.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other, at multiple junctures, of breaching the ceasefire in Gaza.
Palestinian health authorities in the strip say more than 460 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire ostensibly came into force on October 10 last year and more than 1,200 have been injured.
Israel has accused Hamas of attacking Israeli troops and refusing to quickly hand over the remains of dead Israeli hostages as part of the deal.
When the ceasefire was agreed to, there were 20 living and 28 dead Israeli hostages in Gaza. Now just one remains unaccounted-for for, police officer Ran Gvili.
On Saturday night, hundreds gathered outside Mr Gvili’s former school near Be’er Sheva in southern Israel to show their support and demand that he be returned to Israel before ‘Phase Two’ began.
“It’s no coincidence that Ran is the last one,” his father Itzik told the crowd.
“From the moment we learned he had been taken, we said he would put everyone else first — just as he always did.
“On October 7 and throughout his life, Ran brought people together across every divide.
“Today, the unity we see here, with people from right and left standing together for him, reflects exactly who Ran is and the country he dreamed of — a country built on care, connection, and love.”