Netanyahu convenes cabinet meetings on topic

Pakistan and Jordan confirm being invited to sit on Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace

Islamabad says it is committed to finding a ‘lasting solution to the Palestine issue,’ as Trump’s various Gaza committees take shape with several anti-Israel countries involved

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace for Gaza, a spokesperson for the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement Sunday, in a move that adds another nation hostile to Israel to the Gaza oversight committee.

“Pakistan will remain engaged with international efforts for peace and security in Gaza, leading to a lasting solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions,” the statement said.

Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, and has been vocally opposed to Israel’s military operations inside Gaza, going as far to describe it as a “genocide,” a charge Israel has vehemently rejected.

If Islamabad accepts Trump’s invite, it would join a largely symbolic board that would include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a staunch critic of Israel, as well as several other European and Middle Eastern leaders.

A representative from Turkey, as well as from fellow hostile state Qatar, will sit on the more consequential Gaza Executive Board. The inclusion of both was met with staunch objections from Jerusalem, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying Saturday that the board’s makeup “was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy.”

After Netanyahu’s statement, an unnamed senior American official was quoted by the Axios news outlet saying “This is our show, not his show,” and “If he wants us to deal with Gaza, it will have to be our way.”

Netanyahu convened several meetings Sunday morning with his war cabinet, the full government cabinet and the party chairs in his coalition, called in response to the inclusion of Qatar and Turkey on the Gaza Executive Board.

The Israeli prime minister also received an invitation to sit on the more ceremonial Board of Peace made up of world leaders, according to the Ynet news outlet. The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to requests for comment on the report.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s foreign ministry said Sunday that King Abdullah also received an invitation from Trump to join the Board of Peace, adding that it was reviewing related documents within the country’s internal legal procedures before deciding whether to accept.

Additionally, after Canada announced Saturday that its Prime Minster Mark Carney had also received an invite to sit on the more symbolic Board of Peace, Carney said Sunday that he had agreed in principle, although details were still being worked out, especially regarding financial commitments.

“We haven’t gone through all the details of the structure, how it’s going to work, what financing is for, et cetera,” Carney told reporters in Doha. “We will work through those in the coming days.”

Regarding the financial commitments that countries are asked to contribute, Trump’s administration wants nations to pay $1 billion to stay on his Gaza Board of Peace for more than three years, according to the full text of the board’s charter, which was obtained and verified by The Times of Israel.

“Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman,” who will be Trump, the charter said. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.”

Positioned above the Board of Peace, the confusingly named Gaza Executive Board is a less ceremonial and more consequential council that will be more directly involved in overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

The White House unveiled the makeup of the executive board on Friday, with Turkey to be represented by its Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatar to be represented by its senior diplomat Ali Al Thawadi. They will be joined by Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, UAE International Cooperation Minister Reem Al-Hashimy, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, top Trump aide Jared Kushner, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, former UN humanitarian coordinator Sigrid Kaag, and former UN envoy to the Mideast Nickolay Mladenov.

A source familiar with the matter said Israel did not aggressively push back against Turkish President Erdogan’s inclusion on the Board of Peace, recognizing that the more consequential panel is the executive board.

Jerusalem had sought to prevent the inclusion of a Turkish representative on the latter body, but apparently lost that battle in a demonstration of Ankara’s perceived utility in the eyes of Trump, who has repeatedly praised Erdogan — including in front of Netanyahu — and has hailed both Turkey and Qatar’s success in coaxing Hamas to accept his ceasefire deal in October.

On Sunday, Qatar said that its representative on the executive board, Thawadi, is on the body to support “international efforts aimed at effective governance and the achievement of long-term, sustainable peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza.”

Thawadi, strategic affairs minister in Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani’s office, “has been a key figure and effective facilitator in Qatar’s mediation efforts, engaging in sustained dialogue with Israel, Hamas, and mediation partners,” Doha said in a statement, adding that he was central to Qatar’s contributions to Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

The US is aiming to hold the first Board of Peace meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, officials familiar with the matter have told The Times of Israel.

While the charter speaks of a desire for involvement beyond Gaza, the UN Security Council resolution pertaining to the Board of Peace that was passed last month restricts its mandate to the Strip, and only until the end of 2027.