Eurasia Press & News
Draft resolution seems to back PM’s claim that Gaza Executive Board made up of regional players will have less pull than separate panel of White House-linked figures; ex-UN envoy Mladenov given wide power
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 tasked with providing daily services for Gazans.
The White House declined requests for clarification on the provisioning of powers under the document.
Executive authority
The draft resolution fleshes out the structure of Board of Peace — first drawn up in Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war — in a more formal manner than the January 16 White House announcement.
The Board of Peace charter signed last week made no mention of Gaza, instead focusing on presenting the Board of Peace as the preeminent international body for conflict resolution worldwide, reflecting Trump’s ambition for the body to be a major player beyond Gaza and perhaps rival the UN.
Beyond setting out the power of the Board’s panels, the draft resolution largely reviews the sweeping control over the postwar management of Gaza that the UN Security Council handed in November to the Trump-led Board of Peace until the end of 2027.
The five-page document begins by declaring that the mandate for the Board of Peace is to ensure “Gaza will be a deradicalized and demilitarized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors and is developed for the benefit of the people of Gaza.”
“All transitional legislative and executive authority, emergency powers and the administration of justice are vested in the Board of Peace,” the resolution states, adding that the Trump-led panel may do whatever it deems necessary to advance Washington’s 20-point plan.
The Board of Peace is currently made up of 27 members, including Trump.
Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have all agreed to appoint senior officials to sit on the panel.
Much of Europe has refused to join, concerned that the initiative is trying to usurp the UN, unhappy with the Palestinian Authority not being included, and uncomfortable with the initiative’s massive powers granted to Trump.
After the US came under fire for the charter’s stipulation that permanent membership requires a $1 billion donation, the draft resolution states that membership is free and contributions are voluntary.
Given that the panel, which largely consists of world leaders, is only likely to meet a handful of times per year, the draft resolution states that the Board of Peace can “delegate any of its authorities” to subsidiary entities such as the “Executive Board, the High Representative for Gaza, and the International Stabilization Force Commander.”
The resolution adds two names to the Executive Board not included in the January 16 White House announcement: White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Martin Edelman, a New York City real estate lawyer who also advises the United Arab Emirates government. Edelman did not respond to requests for comment.
The inclusion of Wiles will give the Trump administration even more control over the Executive Board, which already includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner and former deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel. They are joined by Republican donor and businessman Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians have a seat on the Executive Board.
The closest thing to an Israeli representative on the Gaza Executive Board is Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, who is a close ally of Kushner. Also on that 12-person panel are Wiles, Witkoff, Kushner, Rowan, Blair and Mladenov, as well as Qatari Strategic Affairs Minister Ali Al-Thawadi, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Egyptian spy chief Hassan Rashad, Emirati minister of state for international cooperation Reem Al Hashimy and former UN humanitarian coordinator Sigrid Kaag.
Empowering Mladenov
The resolution makes the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza the “operational arm for the implementation” of Trump’s 20-point plan, naming Mladenov as the nominee for the role.
The text gives Mladenov powers to establish the Office of the High Representative, to issue orders and directives to implement the 20-point plan and to form the NCAG to oversee daily life for Gazans.
Unlike the members of the Executive Board who have day jobs, Mladenov is effectively the Board of Peace’s most senior full-time employee.
Mladenov — along with the Board of Peace and the Executive Board — is authorized to issue “resolutions, directives or orders” as necessary in addition to enacting new laws for Gaza or modifying old ones in order to implement Trump’s 20-point plan, the draft resolution says.
The 53-year-old former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister served as the UN Mideast peace envoy in 2015-2020, a role that made him a frequent interlocutor between Israel and Hamas. His most recent position has been as director general of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, where he is currently based.
Together with Edelman, his inclusion appears to reflect an expansion of the UAE’s interest in the Trump-led initiative, which Washington hopes will also be significantly bankrolled by the Gulf country.
Abu Dhabi has yet to publicly agree to do so, with sources familiar with the matter telling The Times of Israel that the UAE is still conditioning its support on Hamas disarming, the Palestinian Authority reforming under a new prime minister and Israel agreeing to a pathway to a two-state solution.
‘Appropriate eligibility standards’
The draft resolution explicitly bars the NCAG from hiring anyone affiliated with Hamas.
“Persons or entities such as foreign terrorist organizations (as designated by the Board of Peace Member States or the Board of Peace), and nongovernmental organizations that have supported or have a demonstrated history of collaboration, infiltration or influence with or by Hamas or other terror groups are barred from participation,” the draft resolution states.
However, official have conceded that completely de-Hamasifying the Strip’s governance may be unrealistic and the text tasks Mladenov with crafting “appropriate eligibility standards.”
Even Netanyahu suggested on Tuesday that Israel doesn’t view bureaucrats employed by Hamas in the same light as members of the terror group’s military wing.
US officials have also said that those who agree to give up their weapons will have access to an amnesty program.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Wednesday that Hamas will also be urged to cede its weapons via an international buy-back program, providing new details regarding the program Washington plans to advance to disarm the terror group.
The remarks confirmed The Times of Israel’s reporting from recent months about plans to institute a “buy-back” program where participants would be given funds or jobs if they agree to hand over their weapons.
It is part of a broader decommissioning initiative that the Gaza ceasefire mediators are pushing that would see Hamas gradually hand over its arms, starting with its heavy weaponry. Israel is unlikely to accept this gradual process that prioritizes heavy weaponry over light weaponry, given that the latter category has also been used by Hamas to maintain its grip on Gaza.
Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told al Jazeera on Wednesday that group had never agreed to give up its weapons and indicated the group was uninterested in dialogue aimed disarmament.
“Not for a single moment did we talk about the surrender of weapons, or any formula about destroying, surrendering, or disarmament,” he said.
Israel and Hamas agreed to end some two years of war in October sparked by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The Israel Defense Force’s continues to hold around 53 percent of the Strip, with the rest, including much of the Strip’s population, under the de facto control of Hamas.
The establishment of the Board of Peace and various boards tasked with managing Gaza are meant to mark the start of the second stage of Trump’s 20-point plan, with the body of the final hostage kidnapped on October 7 recovered this week.
While Trump’s plan envisions Israel withdrawing from the Strip, Israel says its forces will remain so long as Hamas is not disarmed. The resolution appears to take the continued division of Gaza into account, calling for the establishment of “humanitarian zones and controlled civilian-protection corridors so that humanitarian assistance may freely reach all the needy people of Gaza.”
“Access to these zones will be limited to persons approved by the Executive Board and the High Representative; they will be patrolled by the ISF and free of unauthorized weapons or armed activity,” the document continues. “Boundaries and procedures for said zones and corridors shall be set by [ISF Commander US Army Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers] in consultation with the Executive Board and the High Representative, and in light of operational and security requirements.”
These clauses appear to enshrine the division of Gaza into “green” and “red” zones, based on where Hamas is active.
In a slideshow presentation to the Davos conference last week on plans for Gaza’s future, Kushner acknowledged that he had initially planned to only try to plan for rebuilding in the green areas where Hamas is not in control, but that the new goal was “catastrophic success,” under the assumption that the terror group will ultimately agree to disarm and all of Gaza can be redeveloped.
The draft resolution also appears to try and address concerns — possibly elevated by the glitzy nature of Kushner’s slideshow showcasing “New Gaza” — that the reconstruction projects being envisioned are aimed at turning the coastal enclave into a beachfront tourist haven.
“The reconstruction and rehabilitation activities of the Board shall be dedicated solely to those who regard Gaza as their home and place of residence,” the document states.
