Middle East leaders join Trump’s Board of Peace despite mandate concerns
Foreign officials are scrambling to understand the board’s expansive mandate ahead of a signing ceremony Thursday.
WASHINGTON — Countries across the Middle East are cautiously signing onto President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace despite uncertainty over the US-led initiative's ambitions beyond the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he accepted Trump’s invitation to join the board after previously criticizing the appointment of two senior officials from Qatar and Turkey to its executive committee. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also issued a joint statement Wednesday announcing their countries' "shared decision" to join.
Other countries remain undecided about joining what was initially presented as a temporary authority for Gaza but has since appeared to evolve into a body for addressing global conflicts. The Board of Peace’s charter — which accompanied invitations sent Friday — makes no mention of Gaza, instead defining the Trump-led board as an organization that “seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”
“Durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed,” the charter reads.
