The Trump administration has just announced the formation of a Board of Peace for Gaza. Will it really bring lasting peace? Or will it bring peace in our time, as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said just before World War II?
History teaches us that hostilities end when an economic alternative emerges. Examples include the Marshall Plan in Europe in 1945, MacArthur’s reforms in Japan, and the Irish Good Friday Agreement of 1998. US President Donald Trump, who knows about building skyscrapers, wants to turn Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East.
What are the economic credentials of the Board of Peace? There are many moving parts.
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG)
The NCAG’s role is to implement Trump’s 20-point peace road map as endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
The NCAG will be led by Dr. Ali Sha’ath, a Palestinian civil engineer. It will implement the restoration of public services, civil institutions, and daily life in Gaza.
Founding Executive Board
The appointed members are: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an attorney; US special envoy Steve Witkoff, a real-estate developer; US special adviser Jared Kushner, a real-estate developer and businessman; Former UK prime minister Tony Blair (1997-2007); US businessman Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management; World Bank President Ajay Banga, former executive chairman of Mastercard; US Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel, a former television producer; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Each Executive Board member will oversee a defined portfolio, including governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.
Gaza Executive Board
In support of the Office of the High Representative and the NCAG, a Gaza Executive Board will help support effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity in Gaza.
The appointed members are: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, and Rowan; Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who has a military and intelligence background; Qatari lawyer Ali Al-Thawadi, the controversial secretary-general of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Local Organizing Committee; Egyptian General Intelligence Service Director Maj.-Gen, Hassan Rashad; UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy, former managing director of the Higher Committee for Hosting the World Expo 2020; Bulgarian politician and diplomat Nickolay Mladenov; Israeli-Cypriot-UK billionaire real-estate businessman Yakir Gabay; Sigrid Kaag, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, and former deputy prime minister of the Netherlands.
Senior advisers
The chairman (Trump) appointed Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum as senior advisers to the Board of Peace. They are charged with leading day-to-day strategy and operations.
Lightstone was senior adviser to the US ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021 and was tasked with activating the Abraham Accords. Greenbaum is the US commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service and a former investment banker.
High representative, security, and additional board members
Mladenov will serve as the high representative for Gaza. He will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG. He will support the board’s oversight of all aspects of Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and development, while ensuring coordination across civilian and security pillars.
He served as the Bulgarian Defense Minister from 2009 to 2010 and the Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2013. From 2015-2020, he served as UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. When he left that role, he received praise from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
US Maj.-Gen. Jasper Jeffers will be the commander of the International Stabilization Force (ISF) to support comprehensive demilitarization and enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials.
More board members are understood to be on the way from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Morocco, Hungary, Kosovo, and elsewhere.
Comments: Will the Founding Executive Board be more powerful than the Gaza Executive Board?
The Trump plan is a two-year interim arrangement. It won’t make Gaza a country. A country generally has an elected legislature, an executive, and a judicial system. The Trump plan only addresses the executive (administrative) component, especially economic development.
There is no mention of taxation. So, how will Trump pay for it all? We have discussed this before. Our best guess is that the Peace Board might start exploiting the Gaza Marine Gas Field off the coast of Gaza. It is estimated to contain more than one trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Presumably, the World Bank would control the gas bank accounts, not Hamas.
What’s in it for Israel? Hopefully peace. Also, just as Hong Kong serves as an entry/exit point to China, Israel would be an ideal access/supply point to Gaza for Israeli and international companies in the gas and construction sectors. Time will tell.
Leon Harris is an accountant and international tax adviser at Harris Consulting & Tax Ltd. leon@hcat.co