Eight prominent Muslim countries jointly announced their decisions to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Wednesday, as Trump acknowledged some countries may have difficulties joining without parliamentary approval. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates will each appoint a representative to sit on the panel of world leaders, their foreign ministers announced in a joint statement.
While Egypt, Pakistan, and the UAE had already announced plans to join the Board of Peace, the other five countries had been mulling the decision. Trump badly wanted Saudi Arabia to join, publicly urging its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to do so, but Riyadh was mum until now. The Board of Peace was given a UN Security Council mandate to oversee the postwar management of Gaza until the end of 2027, though the US is aiming to use the panel for conflict resolution around the globe. The proposed board would be chaired for life by Trump, with member countries required to pay a $1 billion fee each to earn permanent membership.
It is only expected to meet a handful of times each year, and the panel more involved in decision-making regarding Gaza will be the Gaza Executive Board, unveiled on Friday. That body also includes representatives from Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, and the US. In the Muslim countries’ statement announcing their decision to join the Board of Peace, they reiterated their support for “advancing a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law, thereby paving the way for security and stability for all countries and peoples of the region.” (Ed note: Wow. This is beginning to look like the starting line-up for the war in the prophecy of Psalm 83.) (Read More)
