Liza Rozovsky
Haaretz / January 17, 2026
Unlike the United Nations, the Board of Peace will hand Trump personal and remarkably broad powers, and link members’ terms to financial contributions. The charter implicitly criticizes the UN: Haaretz previously reported that it plans to address conflicts in places other than Gaza.
The charter for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, a body established with the stated purpose of managing Gaza’s reconstruction, suggests that Trump has begun to position it as a rival to the United Nations. Notably, the document does not mention Gaza by name.
The document, obtained by Haaretz, was sent on Saturday to around 60 heads of state – including in Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Britain, Germany, Canada and Australia – along with an invitation to join the board, several diplomatic sources told Haaretz.
According to the document, the board will work to “restore dependable and lawful governance and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” in place of other organizations.
The charter implicitly criticizes the UN. It opens with emphasizing the need for “a more nimble and effective international peace-building body,” adding that durable peace requires “the courage to depart from … institutions that have too often failed.”
In a letter sent by Trump to Argentine President Javier Milei, Trump said that the Board of Peace was presented with a “bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict!”
“It is an honour for me to have received tonight the invitation for Argentina to join, as a Founding Member, the Board of Peace,” Milei said in a post on X, where he also shared Trump’s letter. Milei said that the board is meant to “promote lasting peace in regions affected by conflict, starting with the Gaza Strip.”
The charter treats the chairmanship as a personal role rather than one linked to the U.S. presidency, stating that “Donald J. Trump shall serve as inaugural Chairman of the Board of Peace,” with no reference to the office of president or to any fixed term.
Remarkably, the board’s chairmanship is not tied to the U.S. presidency and does not end when Trump leaves office.
As chairman, Trump would wield sweeping authority over the body’s composition, operations and even its continued existence. He alone would invite states to join, renew or terminate their membership, appoint and remove members of the executive board, nominate its chief executive and veto any executive decision, subject only to a possible two-thirds veto.
He would have exclusive power to create or dissolve subsidiary bodies, issue binding resolutions, designate his own successor and dissolve the organization outright or renew it at will every two years.
Trump would have final approval over all major board decisions, set meeting agendas, break tie votes and serve as the ultimate arbiter of the charter’s interpretation. Trump would have “exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities,” select and remove members of the Executive Board, and veto its decisions “at any time thereafter.”
The document further provides that “replacement of the Chairman may occur only following voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity,” which must be determined by “a unanimous vote of the Executive Board,” underscoring how insulated the role is from political change.
The chairman is also required to “at all times designate a successor,” who would “immediately assume the position of the Chairman and all associated duties and authorities,” reinforcing that continuity of leadership flows from Trump’s designation rather than from any public office he or a successor holds.
The charter also ties membership privileges to financial contributions, carving out a special exemption for major donors.
While most member states are limited to three-year terms, the charter states that “the three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than $1 billion in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force,” effectively allowing wealthier backers to retain their seats indefinitely, subject to the chairman’s discretion.
Haaretz reported earlier this week, citing three sources, that the White House is advancing plans to grant a broad mandate to a proposed Board of Peace that would administer the Gaza Strip and eventually take on other global conflicts.
According to one of the sources, senior U.S. officials are promoting the initiative “see it as something very close to a new kind of UN, made up of selected countries that would make decisions affecting the world.”
The White House on Friday announced some Executive Board members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner; Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, reportedly one of the largest private investment firms worldwide; World Bank Group President Ajay Banga; U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel; and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Under the Executive Board will sit the Gaza Executive Board. Its members include two former UN envoys to the Middle East, the Turkish foreign minister, an Israeli businessman, the Gaza cease-fire mediators and some members of the Executive Board.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Gaza Executive Boards members, saying their appointment “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy,” he said in a statement in Hebrew on Saturday.
It was initially unclear which committee Netanyahu was referring to, and Reuters noted it was the Gaza Executive Board, where Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will sit.
Trump’s Board of Peace
The Board of Peace
Comprised of heads of state, invited by Trump. Trump chairs the board, and its votes and decisions will be subject to his approval. Terms will be limited to three years and will be renewable with his approval, except for countries that contribute more than $1 billion in the first year.
The Executive Board
Will be tasked with setting the agenda for the Board of Peace.
Members include Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, Tony Blair, businessman Mark Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.
Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum are senior advisers.
Office of the High Representative
The Office of the High Representative will be headed by former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov. The White House described his role as an “on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG.”
Gaza Executive Board
The Gaza Executive Board will support the Office of the High Representative.
Though the scope of its authority is unclear, its members include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Egypt’s spy chief Hassan Rashad; Emirati Minister Ebrahim al-Hashimy; former Middle East envoy for the UN, Sigrid Kaag; Cypriot-Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; Marc Rowan; Nickolay Mladneov; Tony Blair; Steve Witkoff; and Jared Kushner.
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is a technocratic committee made up of Palestinians overseen by the Office of the High Representative. Dr. Nabil Ali Shaath, who previously served as deputy transportation minister in the Palestinian Authority, will lead the committee.
It is unclear whether the new administration will enjoy real freedom of action or broad public legitimacy.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was also invited to sit at the Board of Peace overnight on Saturday, his office said. According to a diplomatic source, the leaders of all three mediating countries – Egypt, Qatar and Turkey – were invited to take part. Another diplomatic source confirmed that Argentinian President Javier Milei was also invited to join the board.
Trump on Friday also announced the Gaza Executive Board, responsible for day-to-day coordination with the Palestinian technocratic committee, which was announced on Wednesday by Witkoff.
