Trump's Gaza Board of Peace accused of undermining Palestinian statehood and self-determination

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza is moving to crush Palestinian self-determination, the prospect of a Palestinian statehood, and force a “Palestinian surrender”, according to the documents obtained by the Drop Site News. The document originates from the latest round of negotiations between the Palestinian negotiator and Trump’s Board of Peace. The first is a full text of the amendments shared by the Palestinian side to the 15-point road map, while the second is the response from the Director of Trump's board, ex-Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, issued last week.

The two versions together provide an insight into how Trump's Board of Peace is trying to slither its way to erode Palestinian right for self-determination, through a 15-point “roadmap”. Palestinian draft states that resistance will surrender its weapons in a “process that guarantees the Palestinian people’s right to establish a Palestinian state and exercise their right to self-determination.” While the Board of Peace continues to assert that only disarmament can create a credible pathway for statehood.

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Israel and the Board of Peace states that Hamas and other resistance forces must surrender their weapon before reconstruction, Israeli withdrawl and governance arrangements. While Israel has failed to adhere to the first step of the agreement, the cessation of hostilities, it continues to restrict aid and bombard the strip. Analysts suggest that it is a concocted, elaborate mechanism to dismantle the prospect of a free Palestine.

“What we’re seeing is an attempt, in the shadow of a genocide, to dismantle the Palestinian resistance through all of these kinds of preconditions,” said Abdullah Al-Arian, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar. “The interpretation of this agreement is in the hands of actors who are, for the most part, beholden to prioritising Israel’s security.” The Director of Trump's Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, is a Director General of a research academy that trains diplomats from Israel’s closest Arab ally, the United Arab Emirates, and prior to his appointment as the Director of the Board of Peace, was a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank established by veterans of AIPAC.

In a statement to the DropSite News, a spokesperson for the Board of Peace said the organisation “rejects the characterisation that its efforts are designed to advance the interests of one side over another.” He added, “The roadmap is designed to transform a fragile ceasefire into a durable reality that allows Palestinians in Gaza to live in safety, dignity, and stability. This requires progress in governance, humanitarian relief, reconstruction, economic recovery, and security arrangements capable of preventing a return to conflict.”

“In its current form, this paper is unacceptable and cannot serve as a basis for agreement,” said a Hamas official to the Drop Site News in response to Mladenov's response. The agreement “reflects the occupation’s unwillingness to reach an agreement, despite the movement’s compliance with all the demands placed upon it.” The board has also failed in its attempt to create an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza; it was rejected as an attempt to force regional forces to fight Hamas, as Israel failed to disarm them, despite carpet bombing for years.