Israel objects to Trump’s Gaza 'board of peace' appointments

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair was listed by the White House alongside high-profile Trump administration officials as part of a “founding executive board” to lead long-term peace efforts in the Middle East.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Argentinian president Javier Milei have also been invited to join the organisation.

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The appointments upset Israel, which say they were "not coordinated" with Tel Aviv and were "contrary to its policy”.

Israel did not specify who it objected to, but prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Israeli foreign minister to contact the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.

The board, which is part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, is meant to temporarily govern Gaza in place of Hamas.

In a statement, the White House said the 20-point plan was a road map for "lasting peace, stability, reconstruction, and prosperity in the region".

But ever since a ceasefire was agreed in October last year, 463 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Food and other forms of aid into the strip have also been restricted by Israel, with the majority of Gaza's population is living in tents.

Other members of the board named were billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga, and US deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

The White House statement also said that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN Middle East envoy, would be the board's representative on the ground in Gaza.

Journalist Mehdi Hasan slammed the appointments as a "joke", pointing out there are no Palestinians or Arabs on the board.

Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, was also critical of the appointment.

He told David Harper on LBC News: "I can't say I'm hugely enamoured of the idea."

"There's no doubt whatsoever that Tony Blair, as a former Prime Minister and his work since being Prime Minister, has a very considerable amount of expertise in matters relating to the Middle East," he continued.

"And one can't gainsay that. But by the same token, he also carries a very great deal of baggage, most particularly stemming from the Iraq War.

"And I think anybody involved in this so-called peace process, and I say so-called because I have some reservations about most of what Mr. Trump is doing, has to be like Caesar's Wife... to be seen to be whiter than white."

But Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli hostage negotiator, told David Harper on LBC News that Sir Tony will bring much needed expertise to the reconstruction committee.

He called Sir Tony "one of the most experienced, knowledgeable people in the world today with regard to the Israeli Palestinian conflict".

He said: "Tony Blair has been engaged all these years through the Tony Blair Institute. He has a team of Israelis and Palestinians that he's worked with for years.

"I personally think that his addition to the team of the Board of Peace is very, very positive.

"I've spoken with Mr Blair several times over the last months and he has a very clear understanding of the conflict and of what needs to be done to resolve the conflict."

The exact makeup of the board of peace is still unclear, but two separate governing boards - the "founding executive board" and the "Gaza executive board" - have been announced.

The "founding" board will focus on investment and foreign relations, while the "executive" board will oversee the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), responsible for the the day-to-day affairs in Gaza.

The executive board also included US secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Thanking Trump for the appointment, Blair said in a statement: "It gives hope to people in Gaza that they can have a future different from the past, and to the Israelis that they may have a neighbour which does not threaten its security."

There was no word if all of the invitees accepted their invitation to join the Board of Peace.

On Thursday, the White House announced that the next phase of the 20-point peace plan had begun.

It will see a committee of Palestinian technocrats form an interim government during Gaza's transition.

However, Hamas is yet to give up its weapons, as agreed with Israel in October, therefore hindering efforts to rebuild the enclave.

Israelis fear Hamas will continue to govern the Strip despite the proposed technocratic government and the “board of peace".

Most of the strip destroyed by Israeli bombs and bulldozers during its more than two-year war, which killed more than 71,000 Palestinians.