The answer – according to our reading of recent media reports – is an invitation to sit on the Trump-concocted “Board of Peace”.
Those appointed to this and the “Gaza Executive Board” will oversee the administration and reconstruction of Gaza,
But talks around the board tables look likely to be boisterous at times. Israel objects that some appointments to the Executive Board are ‘contrary to its policy’ while the inclusion of Sir Tony Blair, a former UK Prime Minister, has rankled prominent politician Mustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, and other officials from Arab states in the region.
RNZ today reported on the invitation to Luxon:
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s ‘board of peace’ for Gaza as the White House tries to push beyond the ceasefire.
A draft charter for the organisation, which will be chaired by Trump, has been sent to a number of world leaders – including Canada’s Mark Carney, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
RNZ did not know how many countries have received invitations. Another report reckons the number is around 50.
No matter the exact number, the BBC reported:
The White House has announced the first members of its Gaza “Board of Peace”, and the list of names will do little to dispel the criticism from some quarters that the US president’s plan resembles, at its heart, a colonial solution imposed over the heads of the Palestinians.
There are still several unknowns – namely who else might be added, and the exact structure of what is currently a rather complicated layout.
So far, no Palestinian names are included on the two separate senior boards that have been officially unveiled.
An invitation might be in the post, of course, and has yet to be received. The postal service is apt to have been slowed by the devastation resulting from Israeli military action over the past two years.
For a while it seemed that maybe the invitation had not reached Israeli leaders, either.
An Associated Press report two days ago said Israel’s government was objecting to the White House announcement of leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza as the ceasefire moves into its challenging second phase.
The rare criticism from Israel of its close ally in Washington said the Gaza executive committee “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy,” without details.
More significantly:
The committee announced by the White House on Friday includes no Israeli official but has an Israeli businessman, billionaire Yakir Gabay.
Other members announced so far include two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest confidants, a former British prime minister, a U.S. general and representatives of several Middle Eastern governments.
But the Israeli government had not been overlooked.
A subsequent report – in the Jewish Chronicle – said Trump has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the Gaza Board of Peace as a founding member.
Netanyahu is among some 50 world leaders invited to join the Board of Peace, which Trump will chair. The U.S. president has said the board will “solidify peace in the Middle East” through his “bold new approach to resolving global conflict.”
The RNZ report says a spokesperson for Luxon said he welcomed the beginning of the next phase of the peace plan for Gaza.
He was invited to join the board and will give it “due consideration”.
But what happens if Luxon is replaced by Labour’s Chris Hipkins as our PM later this year?
Presumably Hipkins will take his place on the board.
But for how long?
PoO asks because of the price tag.
Bloomberg revealed the text of the document said each country that accepted the invitation would be represented by its leader and would be given a term of “no more than three years”.
If a country wanted to stay on, Bloomberg said, it would have to make a cash contribution to its efforts of US$1 billion.
The Egyptian and Turkish presidents have confirmed they were invited.
A European Union official told Reuters that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was asked to represent Brussels.
Trump’s invitation letter reportedly says the proposed Board of Peace would be at the centre of his Gaza peace plan and would be established as a “new international organization” to temporarily govern the enclave.
“Our effort will bring together a distinguished group of nations ready to shoulder the noble responsibility of building lasting peace,” Trump said in the missive to Milei [the Argentinian leader], calling membership of the international body an “honour reserved for those prepared to lead by example” and “brilliantly invest in a secure and prosperous future for generations to come.”
The US president closed by saying he looked forward to working with members of the Board of Peace “toward the goal of establishing lasting world peace, prosperity, and greatness for all.”
PoO wonders what he has in mind for governing Greenland.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
RNZ today reported on the invitation to Luxon:
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s ‘board of peace’ for Gaza as the White House tries to push beyond the ceasefire.
A draft charter for the organisation, which will be chaired by Trump, has been sent to a number of world leaders – including Canada’s Mark Carney, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
RNZ did not know how many countries have received invitations. Another report reckons the number is around 50.
No matter the exact number, the BBC reported:
The White House has announced the first members of its Gaza “Board of Peace”, and the list of names will do little to dispel the criticism from some quarters that the US president’s plan resembles, at its heart, a colonial solution imposed over the heads of the Palestinians.
There are still several unknowns – namely who else might be added, and the exact structure of what is currently a rather complicated layout.
So far, no Palestinian names are included on the two separate senior boards that have been officially unveiled.
An invitation might be in the post, of course, and has yet to be received. The postal service is apt to have been slowed by the devastation resulting from Israeli military action over the past two years.
For a while it seemed that maybe the invitation had not reached Israeli leaders, either.
An Associated Press report two days ago said Israel’s government was objecting to the White House announcement of leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza as the ceasefire moves into its challenging second phase.
The rare criticism from Israel of its close ally in Washington said the Gaza executive committee “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy,” without details.
More significantly:
The committee announced by the White House on Friday includes no Israeli official but has an Israeli businessman, billionaire Yakir Gabay.
Other members announced so far include two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s closest confidants, a former British prime minister, a U.S. general and representatives of several Middle Eastern governments.
But the Israeli government had not been overlooked.
A subsequent report – in the Jewish Chronicle – said Trump has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join the Gaza Board of Peace as a founding member.
Netanyahu is among some 50 world leaders invited to join the Board of Peace, which Trump will chair. The U.S. president has said the board will “solidify peace in the Middle East” through his “bold new approach to resolving global conflict.”
The RNZ report says a spokesperson for Luxon said he welcomed the beginning of the next phase of the peace plan for Gaza.
He was invited to join the board and will give it “due consideration”.
But what happens if Luxon is replaced by Labour’s Chris Hipkins as our PM later this year?
Presumably Hipkins will take his place on the board.
But for how long?
PoO asks because of the price tag.
Bloomberg revealed the text of the document said each country that accepted the invitation would be represented by its leader and would be given a term of “no more than three years”.
If a country wanted to stay on, Bloomberg said, it would have to make a cash contribution to its efforts of US$1 billion.
The Egyptian and Turkish presidents have confirmed they were invited.
A European Union official told Reuters that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was asked to represent Brussels.
Trump’s invitation letter reportedly says the proposed Board of Peace would be at the centre of his Gaza peace plan and would be established as a “new international organization” to temporarily govern the enclave.
“Our effort will bring together a distinguished group of nations ready to shoulder the noble responsibility of building lasting peace,” Trump said in the missive to Milei [the Argentinian leader], calling membership of the international body an “honour reserved for those prepared to lead by example” and “brilliantly invest in a secure and prosperous future for generations to come.”
The US president closed by saying he looked forward to working with members of the Board of Peace “toward the goal of establishing lasting world peace, prosperity, and greatness for all.”
PoO wonders what he has in mind for governing Greenland.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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