Board of Peace for Gaza is forming with ambitions for a wider mandate of other conflicts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which was initially seen as a mechanism focused on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is taking shape with ambitions to have a far broader mandate of other global crises, potentially rivaling the United Nations in what would be a major upheaval to the post-World War II international order.

In letters sent Friday to various world leaders inviting them to be “founding members” of the board, Trump says the body would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict.”

Invitation letters from Trump to 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, which includes the creation of the Board of Peace, was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council and indicates that the panel of world leaders may not confine their work to Gaza.

“Now it is time to turn all of these dreams into reality,” Trump wrote. “At the heart of the plan is the Board of Peace, the most impressive and consequential board ever assembled, which will be established as a new International Organization and Transitional Governing Administration.”

Other leaders whose governments have confirmed receiving invitation letters include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.

Trump’s apparent aspirations to turn to the Board of Peace into an international institution that could provide an alternative to the United Nations is sure to be controversial and opposed by numerous countries, including China and Russia, which hold veto power in the U.N. Security Council and have significant interests in opposing any radical change in the world order.

Smaller nations also are likely to have objections as the U.N. system has given them at least a voice in major international decisions since the end of the Second World War.

A senior U.S. official said an expanded role for the Board of Peace remains “aspirational” but that Trump and his advisers believe it is possible, particularly as the U.S. and others have repeatedly expressed frustration with the United Nations and its associated organizations, commissions and advisory boards.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Trump administration thinking, did not say the Board of Peace is intended to replace the United Nations but suggested that it could perhaps galvanize the world body into action.

The Trump administration has often been at odds with the United Nations as it zeroed in on eliminating billions of dollars in funding to international organizations and humanitarian assistance at large. Trump and his allies have blasted the world body for not reaching its potential and for “bloated” and redundant agencies that push “woke” ideology.

The letters follow Trump’s post on social media Thursday, saying the Board of Peace had been formed and that the names of its members would be announced “shortly.” Officials say a formal announcement is expected to be made next week during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

It comes after the White House on Friday evening released the names of some of the leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza, including an executive board that will work to carry out the vision of the Board of Peace. Israel’s government objected Saturday, saying it “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy.

That executive committee includes Trump administration officials Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff as well as businesspeople like Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and others like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment Saturday on Trump’s ambitions for the Board of Peace nor the letters posted by leaders. The United Nations also did not immediately respond.

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Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto, Cinar Kiper in Istanbul, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.