Can Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ bring peace to Palestine?

Yet, Trump has made no effort to pressurise Israel to halt its attacks on the civilian population

Since October 2023,  Israeli forces have been attacking the Palestinians in  Gaza Strip killing over 72,437 men, women and children. Twenty-eight percent of those killed (20,100+) have been children. On 10 October 2025, the US President imposed a ceasefire on the warring parties (the Israeli government and the Palestinian organisation Hamas) threatening drastic consequences in the event of refusal to comply. He also spoke vaguely of a peace plan. 

Today,  three months later, the  killing of Palestinians has lessened, but Israeli forces and  settlers have broken the ceasefire regularly. Over 700 Palestinians have been killed since then. Fearing the ceasefire would be reduced to mere words, the US put forward the second phase before negotiations resumed on the creation of a Palestinian National Committee to administer Gaza.

As a result of an agreement between Palestinian factions --the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas --  a list of politically unaffiliated technocrats were chosen to  form the committee led by Ali Shaath, an engineer and a former Deputy Minister of Planning of the Palestinian Authority. 

The US plan also envisages the setting up of a ‘Board of Peace’ (BoP) established by US President Donald Trump and is expected to operate through 2027. It was given legal status via UN Security Council Resolution 2803 and is expected to operate through 31 December 2027. The body will oversee the work of the yet to be set up Palestinian National Committee comprised of technocrats.

The National Committee,  though not formed as yet, is to be led by Ali Shaath, an engineer and the PA’s former Deputy Minister of planning – a result of an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Shaath was chosen so as not to provoke Israel, which has long opposed any involvement of both the PA or Hamas.

The next phase confirms the creation of a Palestinian National Committee to administer Gaza, and is expected to eventually run the now flattened enclave. The Board of Peace will establish an International Stabilisation Force which together with global financial institutions will channel investment for the purpose.  However,  there is much concern over the composition of the ‘Board of Peace’ as it is composed today. Palestinians do not have any representation of the board. Trump who is to be the chairman of the board is heavily pro-Israeli. Trump’s son-in-law who is a board member is Jewish.     

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair,  all of whom are pro Israeli,  have been appointed as members of the initiative’s founding Executive Board. Israeli premier BenjaminNetanyahu too,  is  on the board.

Trump himself is complicit in Israel’s war on Gaza and does not have the interests of Palestinians at heart.Again, the charter of ‘Board of Peace’ gives its chairman  Trump extensive executive power, including the ability to veto decisions and remove members, subject to some constraints.

Israel meanwhile continues violating its commitments under the first phase of the ceasefire on a daily basis. Media reports reveal it is continuing to kill Palestinians on a daily basis though in lesser numbers. It is restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave and has even demolished the UNRWA quarters in  Gaza.

Since the first ceasefire in October,  Israel has blocked the entry of humanitarian supplies including tents needed to house the nearly two million people who have been displaced by the war. It appears Israel is creating conditions to make Gaza inhabitable so Palestinians have no choice but to leave.

Yet, Trump has made no effort to pressurise Israel to halt its attacks on the civilian population,  nor has he or the US made efforts to stop the ceasefire violations. With Russia and China not expected to be on the board,  it looks as if Palestinian interests will once again be overlooked as they were in 1948 when Israel was carved out of Palestine.

In 1948 hundreds of thousands Palestinians were made refugees. For nearly eighty years they have lived as prisoners in their own land. This time around,  it is beginning to look as if the entire Palestinian population will be completely driven out of their land.