DAVOS, Switzerland — President Trump on Thursday signed the founding charter of his proposed Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum. He unveiled what he described as a new international mechanism to oversee postwar stabilization in Gaza and potentially other conflict zones, even as several U.S. allies publicly refused to join.
The signing ceremony, held on the margins of the annual gathering in a Swiss ski resort, marked the most concrete step yet in Trump's effort to establish the board, which his administration says will help support the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and coordinate reconstruction and governance efforts after more than two years of war.
"This isn't the United States — this is for the world," Trump said during the ceremony. "Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we'll do it in conjunction with the United Nations."
From Gaza ceasefire to broader global ambitions
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner presented a slideshow in Davos with his vision for rehabilitating Gaza. He presented simulated images of sleek skyscrapers on the shores of Gaza, and a master plan envisioning an airport and seaport. He said cities could be rebuilt in Gaza within a few years.
"In the Middle East, they build cities like this — two or three million people — in three years. Stuff like this is very doable if we make it happen," he said.
Kushner said the U.S. would host a donors' conference soon to raise money for rebuilding Gaza. But he said disarming Hamas is key to this. His plan is for Hamas' heavy weapons to be immediately decommissioned, and those who disarm would be rewarded with amnesty and reintegration — or safe passage out of Gaza.
Trump had previously suggested the new body, which he would chair, could potentially replace the United Nations.
In recent weeks his administration has promoted the Board of Peace as a results-oriented alternative to existing diplomatic frameworks, which the president has frequently criticized as slow and ineffective. While the initiative was initially framed as a Gaza-specific mechanism, Trump and his aides have recently made clear that it could expand its mandate globally.
Under this charter, the Board of Peace would coordinate international assistance, support security arrangements, and help guide Gaza's post-conflict administration. The concept has been endorsed in principle by a United Nations Security Council resolution supporting a transitional framework for Gaza, though the board itself would operate outside formal U.N. structures.
Senior officials and leaders from several countries — including Azerbaijan, Argentina, Uzbekistan and Hungary — had either agreed to participate at the ceremony or expressed support for its goals. Israel is among the countries that have signed on.
European resistance sharpens questions over legitimacy
But conversations at Davos and beyond this week also underscored resistance from some European governments, raising questions about the board's legitimacy, leadership structure, and relationship to existing multilateral institutions. French President Emmanuel Macron was particularly critical about its potential to undermine the U.N.
Alongside leaders from the U.K., Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands — all of whom said they would not sign the charter in its current form — Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said his country would not sign out of concern for the precedent it set, as well as international law more broadly.
"Slovenia will not join Trump's Board of Peace," Golob said, arguing that peace initiatives should remain firmly rooted in established global frameworks, rather than newly created bodies led by a single political figure.
The U.K.'s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC News that Britain was not prepared to support the initiative at this stage, in part due to the potential participation of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country is still considering whether to commit.
Gaza remains highly unstable despite a ceasefire that has largely halted large-scale fighting. But the Palestinian territory's reconstruction needs are extensive; its governance arrangements remain unclear; and humanitarian conditions remain severe. All of these factors have placed significant pressure on international actors to move beyond emergency relief toward longer-term solutions.
Daniel Estrin contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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