The Trump administration has appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as two of the founding members of its Gaza Peace Council.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president's son-in-law Jared Kushner will also be part of the “founding executive board,” the White House said in a statement released Friday. Trump will chair the board, which is part of his 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. It is expected to temporarily oversee the management of Gaza and manage its reconstruction. Also on the founding executive board are Marc Rowan, head of a private equity firm; World Bank President Ajay Banga; and US National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.

Each member will have a portfolio “crucial to the stabilization and long-term success of Gaza,” according to the White House statement.

Trump had said on Thursday that the board had been formed, calling it “the largest and most prestigious board ever assembled at any time, anywhere.”

The White House announced that more board members will be named in the coming weeks.

Tony was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and led his country into the Iraq War in 2003. After leaving office, he served as the Middle East envoy for the Quartet of international powers (the US, the EU, Russia, and the UN).

Stabilization Force

This follows the announcement of a 15-member independent Palestinian technocratic committee, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), tasked with managing the daily governance of post-war Gaza.

Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control, will chair this new committee.The White House statement on Friday also indicated that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN envoy to the Middle East, will be the board's representative on the ground in Gaza, working with the NCAG. The Trump plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to Gaza to train and support Palestinian police forces, and the White House statement indicated that US Major General Jasper Jeffers will lead this force to “establish security, preserve peace, and create a lasting environment free of terrorism.” The White House indicated that an independent “Gaza Executive Board” was being formed to contribute to governance and includes some of the same names as the founding executive board, as well as other designated individuals. The US peace plan went into effect in October and has since entered its second phase, but there is still a lack of clarity regarding the future of Gaza and the 2.1 million Palestinians who live there. there.

Under the first phase, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in October, as well as a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, a partial Israeli withdrawal, and increased humanitarian aid.

Earlier this week, Witkoff stated that the second phase would entail the reconstruction and full demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups.

“The United States expects Hamas to fully comply with its obligations,” he cautioned, noting that these include the return of the body of the last deceased Israeli hostage. “Failure to do so will have grave consequences.”

However, the ceasefire is fragile, and both sides accuse each other of repeated violations.

Nearly 450 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire came into effect, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, while the Israeli military says three of its soldiers have been killed in attacks by Palestinian groups during the same period.

Humanitarian conditions in the territory remain dire, according to the UN, which has stressed the need for an unrestricted flow of essential supplies.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2013, in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.

More than 71,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Health Ministry of territory.

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