OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
5:26 PM – Wednesday, January 21, 2026
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he has accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the International Board of Peace.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he accepts the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump and will become a member of the Board of Peace, which is to be comprised of world leaders,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s office wrote on X on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that Netanyahu’s acceptance “could now put him in conflict” with allies in his government, including Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a critic of the board and its proposed role in rebuilding Gaza.
The Board of Peace was established by President Trump to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza as part of a U.S.-brokered peace plan to end the war between Hamas and Israel. Trump has suggested the body could eventually expand its mandate to address other global conflicts. Breitbart News reported that members of the proposed board would hold three-year terms unless they obtain permanent membership by contributing $1 billion.
Israel is the most recent country to accept Trump’s offer. Invitations were issued to approximately 60 nations.
Argentinian President Javier Milei accepted an invitation to join the board on behalf of his country, along with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Moroccan King Mohammed VI. Leaders of the United Arab Emirates also confirmed that the UAE will join.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and Vietnam also have accepted their offers.
President Trump serves as chairman. Other executive board members are U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. political adviser Robert Gabriel Jr., U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in the UAE.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Wednesday that European leaders were holding consultations to agree on a position regarding the board.
Last week, the Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join the board. When asked on Wednesday if he predicted Putin would join, Witkoff answered, “I think so.”
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that Italy has declined the offer over concerns that joining a group led by a single leader would violate its constitution. Italy may join international organizations that ensure “peace and justice among nations” only “on equal terms with other states,” the Italian constitution stated.
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