The White House has announced the names of the so-called ‘Board of Peace’ that, under US President Donald Trump’s plan, will oversee the interim administration of Gaza, which continues to see deadly violence despite a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.
The names included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House said.
Trump will chair the board under the plan, as revealed late last year.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan in October, which calls for a Palestinian technocratic body to be overseen by an international so-called “Peace Council” intended to oversee Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
The board also includes billionaire private equity executive Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN envoy to the Middle East, will serve as high representative for Gaza.
The White House statement did not outline each member’s responsibilities.
Many human rights experts and advocacy groups have previously said that Trump overseeing an administration that oversees the governance of a foreign territory is akin to a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticized last year for his role in the Iraq war.
A UN Security Council resolution adopted in mid-November authorized the Peace Council and its cooperating countries to deploy that force in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where more than 440 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began in October.
Israel’s assault on Gaza since 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people, created a hunger crisis that has led to a declaration of famine in some parts of the Palestinian enclave, and internally displaced the people of Gaza.
Multiple human rights experts, scholars and a U.N. investigation say Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, which Israel has denied and said it acted in self-defense after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages during their attack on Israel in October 2023.
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