The makeup of the Gaza Board of Peace (BoP) contradicts Israeli policy and was not brought up with Israeli authorities, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a Saturday statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to take the matter up with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the release added.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, members of the inner cabinet were reportedly summoned to meet at the Prime Minister's Office at 10 a.m. to discuss Trump's BoP membership decisions, according to Israeli media outlets.
Trump announced the members of the governing body of Gaza on Friday. Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was invited to sit on the board, which Israel deems a red line.
Israel had already asked the Trump administration to exclude Erdogan from the BoP.
The issue was raised during talks held in recent weeks between senior Israeli officials and senior Trump administration officials, which focused on the continued implementation of the Trump plan for Gaza.
Israel had already vetoed the presence of Turkish troops in Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force that is to be deployed in the next phase of the Trump plan.
Who will be part of Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza?
The White House announced on Friday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Tony Blair will be among the founding members of the BoP, which will be responsible for rebuilding the enclave and ensuring the disarmament of Hamas.
Leaders from more than 60 countries have been invited to serve on the Peace Council.
Western diplomats told The Jerusalem Post, “It appears that Trump is building an organization here that will deal not only with Gaza, perhaps ‘a kind of Mini-UN.’”
The BoP will include private equity executive and billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy, will be the high representative for Gaza.
Argentine President Javier Milei accepted Trump’s invitation to join the board, while reports indicate that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi were also invited to join.
Turkish authorities announced that Erdogan was also among the possible new members of the BoP.
Trump “sent a letter inviting [Erdogan] to participate as a founding member in the Board of Peace,” said Burhanettin Duran, spokesperson of the Turkish presidency.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates International Cooperation Minister Reem Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.
Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.
Tobias Holcman and Reuters contributed to this report.