Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Convicted felon Donald Trump’s most Orwellian creation thus far may be his alleged “Board of Peace.” (BOP) What we have here is a “Board of Peace” composed of sycophants, global toadies and war criminals, with a failure to communicate. It’s a lame attempt to a) supplant the UN as the governing umbrella of international organizations and NGO’s, and b) 4aise cash for and stoke the ego for Trump. Martin Edelman, Trump’s New York real estate lawyer, would also be part of the executive board, as would his chief-of-staff, Susie Wiles. Edelman’s inclusion tips Trump’s hand about his real goals, which is to pave the way (literally) for a Trump resort on the Gaza beachfront. By the way, Edelman also advises the United Arab Emirates. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN High Representative for Gaza serves as the operations director for implementation.
The whole thing is a front for Trump’s real estate development ambitions for a Gaza beachfront resort. Also included on the Executive Board are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel. They are joined by Republican donor Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga and former UK prime minister Tony Blair. This is unvarnished orientalist, imperialism at its worst, rather than a world body dedicated to “managing Gaza’s transition away from Hamas rule following two years of war.”
Palestinians see the BOP as an adjunct of the Israeli occupation. Jared Kushner sees Gaza as a grand real estate development ripe to happen and $ signs in his eyes. Permanent membership requires a $1B fee, and guess who gets to keep all the money? The greatest grifter of all time has already made $1.4B since the start of his presidency through blackmail, extortion and threats of groundless legal complaints. It’s never enough. Any country can join the BOP for three years without the $1B ante, but permanent members have to pay up. It’s tough to imagine who would want to, considering no nation or person, other than Trump has any decision-making authority. So the motivations for paying are tariff abatement, bribery and stoking Trump’s ego for future considerations or forgiveness. The 27 signatory nations are: Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Though Trump claims it will provide a framework for a transitional government in Gaza to replace Hamas, the exclusion of Palestinians, the subjects to be governed, illustrates the orientalist orientation of the whole thing. (I HAD to say it like that.) Since it was announced in September the “concept of a plan” for the BOP has taken on different iterations of goals and claims. Initially “conceptualized” as an organization dedicated to a creating a functional, transitional government in Gaza, the Palestinians have no presence on the BOP, nor any say on their needs and fate. The Charter doesn’t even mention Gaza. Ultimately, it’s a model for more global chaos to further enrich Trump, and strengthen the MAGA-Likud alliance. Under PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud party has become the Israeli version of MAGA.
No credible Middle East or European state or diplomatic officials want any part of it. The member nations are mostly autocratic and authoritarian regimes, and weaker nations willing to ponying up the $1B to curry Trump’s favor, and tariff relief. The BOP Charter provides for NO vote among members on resolutions, defers to Trump on all substantive decisions, and requires his signature to enact them. Because Likud was squeamish about having Qatar and Turkey involved, the charter gives individual member nations NO authority to oppose or object to anything that Trump proposes; and relegates them to an “advisory” capacity. Trump, as permanent chairman, has exclusive authority to veto anything he doesn’t like, and to name his successor, when he get bored with the whole thing. As it is written: “Article 3.2: Chairman (a) Donald J. Trump shall serve as inaugural Chairman of the Board of Peace, and he shall separately serve as inaugural representative of the United States of America, subject only to the provisions of Chapter III.” OK, but why not me? I’m all about peace and love, but I guess that’s not the point of the BOP. Then there’s: “(b) The Chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfill the Board of Peace’s mission.” Most of Europe and regional allies have refused to dignify it over concerns that the goal is to undermine and usurp the UN, the absence of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the brazen attempt by Trump to use this to consolidate his global power, even after his presidential term expires.
Before it became known as an existential threat to the UN, the Security Council had granted the Board of Peace a mandate as part of U.S.-led efforts to sustain and manage the cease-fire in Gaza. They did so on the assumption that the focus would be on creating a transitional government for Gaza, but Trump’s plan since then has become personal global domination. The timing of the announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos was calculated to upstage that event, and focus the limelight on Trump.
Israel-Palestine 2007. Pubic Domain. Via Picryl .
Any chance of success is undermined by the fact that Israel has not agreed to totally withdraw from Gaza, as required in the BOP bylaws until Hamas is fully disarmed, while Hamas is holding tight to their munitions. Trump presumes to appoint himself as the effective “governor” of Palestine, in the tradition of British colonial governors of territories. The intent is to dismantle the UN and international system of order to bring chaos and global domination by one man, the Chairman of the BOP – Trump as the singular decision-maker and power broker of the group. So, all the traditional US allies are staying away. Marc Weller, a Cambridge international law professor specializing in peace negotiations said, ““This is a direct assault on the United Nations. This initiative is likely to be seen as a takeover of the world order by one individual in his own image.”
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