JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Wednesday he had agreed to join U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, after his office earlier criticized makeup of the board's executive committee. The committee included Turkey, a regional rival.
A statement from Netanyahu's office said he had accepted Trump's invitation.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world," the office said in a statement.
The Board of Peace led by Trump was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. The Trump administration's ambitions have ballooned into a more sprawling concept, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting it will soon broker global conflicts, like a pseudo-U.N. Security Council.
More details were expected when Trump participates in an announcement about the Board of Peace on Thursday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The board's charter has not yet been made public, but a draft version obtained by The Associated Press indicates much of the power will be concentrated in the hands of Trump himself. A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership, the draft said.
So far, at least eight countries — Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina and Belarus have agreed to take part.
Invitation letters from Trump also have been sent to Paraguay's leader Santiago Peña, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Plus, Russia, Israel, India, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union's executive arm have said they received invitations.
The Kremlin is now "studying the details" and will seek clarity of "all the nuances" in contacts with the U.S., Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Trump confirmed Monday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited.
It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.
The executive board's members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump's deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board's representative overseeing day-to-day matters. Additional members include: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt's General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands' former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.
The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza's day-to-day affairs.
(With inputs from AFP and Associated Press)
