‘Israel’ objects to Gaza executive board body line-up

• The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a formal objection to the newly announced "Gaza Executive Board," stating its composition was not coordinated with ‘Israel’ and specifically criticizing the inclusion of officials from Qatar and Turkey.
• Despite ‘Israeli’ concerns, President Donald Trump continued building his "Board of Peace" by inviting leaders from Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, and Canada to join a high-level oversight body that includes Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, and Tony Blair.

‘Israel’ said on Saturday it objected to the line-up of the Gaza executive board that will operate under the oversight of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.

"The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy," said a statement from the office of ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter," it added about the board, which includes the Turkish foreign minister and a Qatari official.

The Board of Peace began to take shape on Saturday as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Trump had already declared himself the chair of the body, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory, much of which was reduced to rubble during two years of relentless ‘Israeli’ bombardment.

The US president also named to the Board of Peace his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff -- most of whom are also on the Gaza executive board.

The moves came after the Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza under the oversight of the Board of Peace began held its first meeting in Cairo, attended by Kushner.

Worldwide invites

In Canada, a senior aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intended to accept Trump's invitation, while in Turkey, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been asked to become a "founding member" of the board.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was "studying" a request for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to join.

Sharing an image of the invitation letter, Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X that it would be "an honor" to participate in the initiative.

In a statement sent to AFP, Blair said: "I thank President Trump for his leadership in establishing the Board of Peace and am honored to be appointed to its Executive Board."

Blair is a controversial figure in the Middle East because of his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump himself said last year that he wanted to make sure Blair was an "acceptable choice to everybody".

Blair spent years focused on the ‘Israeli’-Palestinian issue as representative of the "Middle East Quartet" -- the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia -- after leaving Downing Street in 2007.

The White House said the Board of Peace will take on issues such as "governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilization".

The other members of the board so far are World Bank President Ajay Banga, an Indian-born American businessman; billionaire US financier Marc Rowan; and Robert Gabriel, a loyal Trump aide who serves on the US National Security Council.