Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza to require $1 billion payment for permanent membership
By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN
(CNN) — Members of President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” the committee that will oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, will receive a permanent seat if they pay $1 billion, according to a US official.
All funds raised will go toward rebuilding Gaza, the official said, adding that “there will not be exorbitant salaries and massive administrative bloat that plagues many other international organizations.”
While there is no requirement to contribute funds to the board, members who do not make a $1 billion payment will have a three-year terms, the official told CNN Sunday.
The Trump-chaired board will include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Leaders of several nations subsequently confirmed they were invited by Trump to join the board, which Trump has touted as the “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled.”
Bloomberg first reported on the $1 billion buy-in.
The panel is a key step in the United Nations-backed American plan to demilitarize and rebuild Gaza, which was ravaged by two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Members will each be given a defined portfolio “critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success,” the White House said Thursday.
The board has no representative of the Palestinian Authority, a Hamas rival that runs parts of the occupied West Bank and is expected to eventually be handed control of Gaza after completing extensive reforms.
Trump’s foreign policy envoy Steve Witkoff, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel and son-in-law Jared Kushner are also members, along with billionaire businessman Marc Rowan and World Bank head Ajay Banga.
Under the US plan, the day-to-day governance of Gaza will be handled by a Palestinian technocratic committee. A separate “Gaza executive board” that will support governance includes officials from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and some members of the “Board of Peace” and the technocratic committee.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he opposed the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in key roles on the board, stating the board “was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy.” Israel has tried to prevent Qatar and Turkey from having any role in the future of Gaza, repeatedly accusing them of supporting and funding Hamas.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Betsy Klein, Christian Sierra and Tal Shalev contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
