Sam Corbishley
Published January 17, 2026 5:36pm
Updated January 17, 2026 5:36pm
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Displaced Palestinians live amongst the rubble and debris of homes and businesses destroyed by the Israeli military in over two years of military strikes (Picture: AFP via Getty)
Israel has objected to the announcement of Donald Trump’s Gaza peace panel.
In a rare rebuke of his most important ally, President Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the so-called Board of Peace ‘was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy’.
The statement adds that Netanyahu has instructed his foreign ministry to contact US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
No Israeli officials have been named to the committee, although an Israeli businessman has been.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago (Picture: AP)
Former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair and high-profile Trump administration officials were named as part of the ‘founding executive board’ to lead long-term peace efforts in the Middle East.
This will be the operational arm of the Board of Peace, which will be chaired by Mr Trump and other serving world leaders who have not yet been named.
Trump called it ‘the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place’ ahead of the announcement.
The officials listed included US secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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Former UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov was also named to the board, alongside billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga and US deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
Buildings lie in ruins amidst the rubble in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (Picture: Reuters)
Earlier this week, the Trump administration said the US was launching ‘phase two’ of its 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict, which Mr Witkoff said would see the focus shift beyond a ceasefire and towards demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction.
The ceasefire took effect on October 10, with the first phase focusing on the return of all remaining hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, along with a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gaza’s second-largest militant group after Hamas, also expressed dissatisfaction with the makeup of the executive committee and claimed it reflected Israeli ‘specifications’.
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