US-led Gaza board triggers backlash

United States President Donald Trump has unveiled his "Board of Peace" for Gaza, leaving Palestinians and Israelis in the dark about the panel's formation.

The White House announced on Thursday the establishment of a "Gaza Executive Board", which would operate under a broader "Board of Peace" to be chaired by Trump as part of his 20-point plan to end the conflict in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that the announcement regarding the Gaza Executive Board membership "was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy".

"The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter," it said.

Also on Saturday, the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine criticized the Board of Peace for Gaza, saying it "served Israeli interests", Xinhua News Agency reported.

The board was "in line with Israeli specifications and served the interests of the occupation, in a clear indication of negative intentions regarding the implementation of the terms of the (ceasefire) agreement", the group said.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration congratulated the formation of the initial National Committee for the Administration of Gaza on Friday.

The NCAG consists of 15 Palestinian technocrats led by Ali Shaath, as part of a transitional governance framework for Gaza, and was called a "vital step forward" in implementing phase two of the US peace plan.

"Today, as my first official act, I adopted and signed the NCAG Mission Statement, affirming our governing mandate and operating principles," Shaath said on Sunday.

The White House statement named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, and US Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gabriel, as executive members of the Board of Peace.

The White House said they would oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilization and long-term success, including but not limited to governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.

However, Ashish Prashar, a former aide of Blair, criticized the composition of the board for having a "strong track record of endorsing and arming Israel's project of genocide".

"There needs to be rejection of any form of international trusteeship over the Gaza Strip. The future of Palestine should only be decided by Palestinians," Prashar said.

Abdul Wahed Jalal Nori, a lecturer in the Department of Fundamental and Inter-Disciplinary Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia, told China Daily that there are "serious questions about credibility, legitimacy and intent, especially at this moment".

Any mechanism claiming to promote peace "while excluding Palestinians from meaningful consultation is fundamentally flawed", Abdul Wahed said.

"Peace cannot be engineered from above by distant political actors with a documented history of military intervention, arms transfers, and political cover for Israel's actions in Gaza," he said.

"From a Palestinian perspective, the board appears less like a peace mechanism and more like an administrative tool designed to manage the consequences of destruction rather than address its root causes."

jan@chinadailyapac.com