ISRAEL has been asked to join US President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan, an Israeli official said on Monday, while France is holding off accepting for now. It’s not known whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the offer, said the Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a behind-the-scenes diplomatic matter. Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union’s executive arm also were among the latest to receive invitations. It’s unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don’t get along, has raised questions about the board’s mandate and decision-making processes.

 

Also unknown is Israel’s potential role on a board in-charge of implementing the ceasefire agreement that directly involves them. A Trump reference in the invitation letters saying that the body would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict” suggested it could act as a rival to the UNSC, the most powerful body of the global organisation created in the wake of World War II. France, though, does not plan to join the Board of Peace “at this stage” despite receiving an invitation, a French official close to President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. Told late Monday that Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.”

 

“I’ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes and he’ll join,” Trump told reporters in Florida before a flight back to Washington. “But he doesn’t have to join.” Morocco’s King Mohammed VI accepted a spot on Monday, becoming the first Arab leader and at least the fifth world leader to join. Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Argentina also have signed on. Russian President Vladimir Putin received the invitation, and the Kremlin is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in contacts with the US, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Trump confirmed on Monday night that Putin had been invited.