Trump taps Blair, Rubio for Gaza 'Board of Peace'
US President Donald Trump boasted it is the "Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place." The body will oversee the transitional government in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory
US President Donald Trump on Friday announced the names of some of the people who are going to sit on the Gaza "Board of Peace," a body that will oversee the transitional government in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Among those on the seven-member "founding executive board" are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Trump himself will chair the board, which is to have 15 members. The US president said it was the "Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place."
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Establishing a stabilization force in Gaza
The White House said further members would be announced in the coming weeks. It did not lay out the responsibilities of each member.
In addition to overseeing the transitional government, the board will be responsible for establishing an international stabilization force (ISF) to maintain order in Gaza.
Trump on Friday named US Major General Jasper Jeffers to head the ISF.
A UN Security Council resolution, passed in mid-November, authorized the "Board of Peace" and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.
The board's creation comes shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee.
The committee is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of devastated post-war Gaza.
Second phase of Gaza peace plan underway
The first phase of Trump's Gaza peace plan, which was unveiled in September 2025, called for a ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
Since then, both sides have accused the other of breaking the deal.
Israel has continued to restrict aid into the Gaza Strip and conduct attacks.
And Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU, the US and some Arab states — has so far refused to disarm, a non-negotiable demand from Israel.
Nevertheless, the peace plan's second phase is now underway.
The ceasefire in Gaza was called two years after Hamas launched attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, and abducting 251.
Israel's military campaign in response to the attack has killed at least 71,400 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry.
