Trump announces Board of Peace to govern Gaza, appoints himself chair and vows to reveal other members

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the establishment of a Board of Peace that will govern the Gaza Strip last night.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social he wrote, "It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed. The Members of the Board will be announced shortly, but I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.”

In another post on his social media platform Trump wrote, “We have OFFICIALLY entered the next phase of Gaza’s 20-Point Peace Plan! (...) As Chairman of the Board of Peace, I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government (...). These Palestinian leaders are unwaveringly committed to a PEACEFUL future! With the support of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, we will secure a COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarization Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel.”

“Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honor its commitments, including the return of the final [hostage] body to Israel, and proceed without delay to full Demilitarization,” he added.

“As I have said before, they can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The people of Gaza have suffered long enough. The time is NOW."

Ali Shaath, who will head the technocratic committee that will temporarily administer Gaza, said this morning in an interview with the Palestinian radio station “Basama” that he estimates the rehabilitation of the Strip will take seven years. According to him, there is an ambitious plan that includes transferring the war debris into the Mediterranean Sea.

Shaath explained in the interview that, in his view, the committee’s authority extends across the entire Gaza Strip, and that its powers will increase as Israel completes its withdrawal as part of the second phase. 

He added that dealing with armed groups in Gaza is not within the committee’s mandate, and that this falls under the responsibility of the international force and the Board of Peace. He made similar remarks regarding potential violations of the agreement by Israel.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, spoke about the move to Phase 2 of the Gaza Agreement, “Jared [Kushner] and I did a FaceTime today with the 14 members of the Technocratic Committee. We actually have succeeded, the United States government has, in standing up a new government that will forever replace Hamas.”

Earlier this week, Trump disclosed that he had selected the members of the Board of Peace. “Essentially, it’s the most important leaders of the most important nations,” he said to reporters aboard Air Force One before taking off from Florida to Washington.

Nickolay Mladenov, who previously served as Bulgaria’s Defense Minister, is expected to head the council. This month, Mladenov met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials in Israel ahead of the transition to the next phase of Trump’s 20-Point Plan.

During the meeting, Netanyahu emphasized that Hamas must be disarmed and that the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized in line with the plan’s framework.

According to the plan, a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) will be established in cooperation with the United States, Arab states, and other countries. The force’s objective will be to train and coordinate with Palestinian police forces in Gaza and to secure its borders.

Witkoff announces the launch of Phase Two

On Wednesday, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced on his 𝕏 account the transition to Phase B in Gaza. The announcement came in spite of the fact that the body of the last Israeli hostage, Staff-Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili is still held by Hamas in Gaza.

“Today, on behalf of President Trump, we are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President’s 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction,” he wrote. 

“Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG),” Witkoff added, explaining that the technocratic committee will serve as a transitional government responsible for the full demilitarization and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, as well as the disarmament of “all unauthorized personnel.”