Turkey, Israel, Pakistan to join Trump's Board of Peace as Italy hedges: What to know

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation to join his Board of Peace for Gaza and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to attend the body’s inaugural meeting in Davos on Thursday.

Details: Fidan will represent Turkey on behalf of Erdogan as a board member during the Davos meeting, Erdogan told journalists at the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday.

The top Turkish diplomat will attend the signing ceremony of the board's charter on Erdogan's behalf, the Turkish Foreign Ministry clarified in a statement later Wednesday. 

Turkey’s decision to join the board came after a phone conversation between Erdogan and Trump late Tuesday, during which the two leaders discussed the Gaza ceasefire process along with other regional issues, according to the Turkish readout.

On Jan. 15, Fidan was tapped as a member of the Gaza Executive Board, a subsidiary body under the Board of Peace tasked with overseeing the Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction efforts, alongside senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Erdogan’s decision to send Fidan to Davos reflects the Turkish president’s long-running boycott of the World Economic Forum following his 2009 verbal confrontation with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres during a Davos panel on Gaza. Erdogan abruptly walked off the stage after interrupting the moderator and demanding more speaking time. 

Erdogan has not attended the Davos forum since that incident, opting instead to delegate representation to senior officials.

Why it matters: The Board of Peace is a US-led international body tasked with overseeing Gaza’s postwar stabilization under a UN-backed plan. The initiative envisions the deployment of an international stabilization force to supervise Israel’s phased withdrawal from the enclave and to train vetted Palestinian police officers. Its mandate also includes oversight of a technocratic Palestinian administration responsible for the day-to-day governance of the Strip.

Trump has sent invitations to roughly 60 governments and heads of state to join the board. Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates declared their formal acceptance of the invitation in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“The ministers reiterate their countries’ support for the peace efforts led by President Trump, and reaffirm their countries’ commitment to supporting the implementation of the mission of the Board of Peace as a transitional administration,” the statement read.

“Each country will sign the joining documents according to their respective relevant legal and other necessary procedures,” it added.

Along with the United States, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar served as the main mediators in the Gaza ceasefire that began in October 2025.

Israel also joins: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also accepted the invitation to join the board, Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday in a post on X.

Israeli officials remain publicly opposed to the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in post-war Gaza arrangements, arguing that their ties with Hamas would undermine Israel’s security interests and legitimize the group’s continued political influence in the enclave.

Netanyahu and other senior leaders repeatedly said there should be no Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip, urging Washington to exclude them from oversight roles. 

Global response: Other countries that have publicly signaled intent to join the board include Bahrain, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina and Belarus.

While Canada has signaled agreement “in principle,” China, India and Ukraine have confirmed they received invitations but have not announced whether they will join.

France, Norway and Sweden, meanwhile, have publicly declined or said they will not take part under the current proposal amid ongoing tensions between Washington and EU capitals over Trump’s bid to seize Greenland.

Italy has signaled reluctance to join due to constitutional concerns over overseas military or stabilization commitments. Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s attendance at the Davos summit remains unconfirmed, Italian news agency Ansa reported on Wednesday. Meloni is likely to skip the forum altogether, in part to avoid a potential meeting with Trump as Rome weighs constitutional and political concerns over the initiative, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

This developing story has been updated since initial publication.