The United States has extended a formal invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to serve as a founding member on the newly established Board of Peace, a high-level international body that will oversee the administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. This development comes as part of a comprehensive post-war governance framework unveiled by the White House on Friday.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the Board of Peace will be chaired by US President Donald Trump, who brokered the Gaza peace agreement in September with mediation support from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar. The invitation to President Erdogan proceeded despite reported Israeli objections to his inclusion. Burhanettin Duran, Director of Communications for the Turkish presidency, confirmed the invitation via social media, noting that Trump sent the formal letter on January 16, 2026.
The newly announced governance structure consists of multiple interconnected bodies. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), comprising fifteen Gazan technocrats led by Dr. Ali Shaath, will handle day-to-day civil services including education, sewage management, and infrastructure. However, the NCAG will hold no political authority and will report directly to the US-led Board of Peace.
A separate Executive Board will develop long-term strategic vision for Gaza, with members including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and American investor Marc Rowan. The White House stated that each member will oversee critical portfolios including governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment, and large-scale capital funding.
The administration also appointed Aryeh Lightstone, CEO of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, and Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the US General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, as senior advisers. Their appointments have drawn scrutiny due to Lightstone’s controversial role in the suspended Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and Gruenbaum’s limited foreign policy background, having gained prominence for leading financial crackdowns on US universities over pro-Palestine activism.
Former UN envoy Nikolay Mladenov has been named Gaza High Representative, serving as principal intermediary between the NCAG and the Board of Peace. Major General Jasper Jeffers will command the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) tasked with maintaining security and monitoring ceasefire compliance within Gaza.
The complex governance framework has generated confusion among observers, particularly as several appointed figures are viewed as holding strongly pro-Israeli positions, raising questions about balanced representation in Gaza’s post-war administration.