Last week, the “Board of Peace” established by President Trump convened in Washington. The week before, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Israel’s joining of the board (even though this decision is the purview of the entire government). It’s possible that Netanyahu skipped the meeting to avoid interacting with leaders from Turkey and Qatar, two board member states. It’s also plausible that these leaders don’t want to associate with him. Either way, the very establishment of the board reflects an important change in the structure of the international arena.

The Board of Peace was initially presented as a mechanism for the reconstruction of Gaza after the war, but it soon became clear that President Trump’s ambitions were much more far-reaching: an attempt to shape a new international framework – one that seeks to be more confined and operational, functioning alongside the UN, and perhaps, in the Trumpist utopia, even as an alternative to it.

The establishment of the board takes place against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis in which the UN is embroiled, following a delay in the transfer of billions of dollars – the United States’ share of the organization’s budget for the years 2025-2026. At the same time, the US administration is asking the countries participating in the Board of Peace to each contribute significant amounts of money that will strengthen the board’s ability to operate far beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip – for which the “Executive Council for Gaza,” led by Nikolai Mladenov, the former UN envoy to the Middle East, has........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)