Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation to join that initiative that the U.S. president says aims to resolve conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.
Read: Russia, India invited to join Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’
“Might,” Trump said when asked by a reporter if he wanted the “Board of Peace to replace the UN.”
“The UN just hasn’t been very helpful. I am a big fan of the UN potential, but it has never lived up to its potential,” Trump said in a briefing.
“I believe you got to let the U.N. continue because the potential is so great,” he added.
The White House on Friday named some individuals who will sit on the board, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
A U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorised the so-called “Board of Peace” and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas had signed off.
Under Trump’s Gaza plan, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board would be expanded to tackle conflicts around the world.
Observers say such a board could undermine the United Nations. Many rights experts and advocates have also said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s affairs resembled a colonial structure. At the same time, Blair’s involvement has been criticised due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
Israel has also repeatedly violated the “ceasefire” in Gaza reached under Trump’s plan. Over 460 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, have been killed since the so-called truce began in October.