- Cairo is “studying” Sissi’s request to join the board of directors, says FM.
- Canadian Prime Minister intends to accept Trump’s invitation: help.
- The Argentine president said it would be an “honor” to join the initiative.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Peace Council” for the post-war Gaza Strip began to take shape on Saturday, with leaders from Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada asking to join.
The leaders’ announcements come after the US president named his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and lead negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to the panel.
Trump had already declared himself president of the body because he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory, which lies in ruins after more than two years of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The move came after a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern Gaza held its first meeting in Cairo attended by Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who has partnered with Witkoff for months on the issue.
In Canada, a top aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intended to accept Trump’s invitation, while in Turkey, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been asked to become a “founding member” of the board.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was “studying” a request for membership from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Sharing an image of the invitation letter, Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X that it would be “an honor” to participate in the initiative.
In a statement sent to AFPBlair said: “I thank President Trump for his leadership in establishing the Peace Council and am honored to be appointed to its Executive Council.”
Blair is a controversial figure in the Middle East due to his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump himself said last year that he wanted to ensure Blair was an “acceptable choice for everyone.”
Blair spent years focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian issue as a representative of the “Middle East Quartet” – the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia – after leaving Downing Street in 2007.
The White House said the Peace Council would address issues such as “building governance capacity, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale financing and capital mobilization.”
The other board members so far are World Bank President Ajay Banga, an American businessman of Indian origin; American billionaire financier Marc Rowan; and Robert Gabriel, a loyal Trump aide who serves on the U.S. National Security Council.
Trump created a second “Gaza Executive Council” that appears designed to have a more advisory role.
It was not immediately clear which world leaders should serve on each board.
The White House, which announced Friday that additional members would be appointed to both entities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel strikes
Washington said the plan for Gaza had moved to a second phase – from implementing the ceasefire to disarming Hamas, whose attack on Israel in October 2023 triggered the massive Israeli offensive.
On Friday, Trump named U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers to head the International Stabilization Force, which will be responsible for providing security in Gaza and training a new police force to succeed Hamas.
Jeffers, of US Central Command Special Operations, was tasked in late 2024 with monitoring the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which continued its periodic strikes against Hezbollah.
Ali Shaath, a Gaza native and former deputy minister of the Palestinian Authority, had already been appointed to head the steering committee.
Trump, a real estate developer, has previously considered turning devastated Gaza into a Riviera-style resort area, although he has backed away from calls for forced population displacement.
