A draft resolution laying out the powers of various bodies tasked with managing postwar Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative appears to limit the significance of a panel that had sparked worries in Israel.

The document, which must still be signed by Trump, could help soften Israeli qualms about the inclusion of senior representatives from Qatar and Turkey on the Gaza Executive Board. That body was previously understood as having a leading role in managing the demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.

Instead, the draft Board of Peace resolution obtained and verified by The Times of Israel on Wednesday describes the panel as playing an advisory role to another committee called the general Executive Board — also beneath the Board of Peace, with nearly the same name, and largely made up of figures with close ties to the White House.

The document both expands the Trump administration’s hold on that panel, while also granting wide powers to former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov as High Representative for Gaza.

The resolution is the first to be proposed as part of the Board of Peace, an international body set up and led by Trump that — as of now — comprises 27 nations, including Israel, and that has been tasked by the United Nations with managing Gaza’s transition away from Hamas rule following two years of war.

The draft was distributed to countries that agreed to join the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, though it is unclear if their support is required for the document to become binding.

The Board of Peace charter, which senior representatives from nearly two dozen countries signed at a ceremony in Davos last week, does not appear to require a vote on resolutions, instead simply giving Trump the right as chairman to adopt them on his own, and requiring his signature to bring them into force.

A US official and an Arab diplomat said Wednesday that Trump has yet to sign the draft, indicating that some of its language is still up for debate.

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli officials to the draft document.

Officials in Jerusalem had reacted angrily after the makeup of the Gaza Executive Board was unveiled by the White House on January 16, due to the inclusion of figures from Turkey and Qatar, both of which have ties to Hamas. The Trump administration believes both Doha and Ankara are essential for advancing its 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war.

Arab diplomats familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel at the time that the Gaza Executive Board would play a more important role in Gaza-related decision-making than the general Executive Board. That understanding helped fuel private worries in Jerusalem that Hamas allies would have a major role in determining the future of the enclave.

Following the White House announcement, Netanyahu, who sought to leverage Turkey’s and Qatar’s ties with Hamas in the past, came under fire from across the Israeli political spectrum for being unable to prevent the two countries from gaining a foothold in Gaza through the new panel.

In response, the premier countered the criticism by characterizing the Gaza Executive Board as a mere “advisory committee.”

The Board of Peace draft resolution appears to support Netanyahu’s framing, stating that the Gaza Executive Board will “serve in an advisory capacity” to the general Executive Board.

The general Executive Board “shall have the same authority [and] powers” as the Board of Peace, reads the draft resolution.

According to the draft, the Gaza Executive Board is meant to support Mladenov and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG — the 12-member panel of Palestinian technocrats headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath........

© The Times of Israel