Trump to charge nations $1 billion fee for Gaza peace board? White House says...

US President Donald Trump’s administration wants nations to pay $1 billion to stay on his Gaza Board of Peace, reports claimed. However, the White House has denied the claims, calling the report “misleading”, saying that there is no minimum membership fee to join the peace board. This comes a day after Trump announced who would be on the board, which will be dominated by Americans.

Bloomberg reported, citing a draft charter, that Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and would decide on who is invited to be a member. The report added that decisions would be taken by a majority, with each member state present getting one vote, which would be subject to the chairman’s approval.

“Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman. The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force,” the draft reads as quoted by the outlet.

Responding to the report, the White House said, “This is misleading. There is no minimum membership fee to join the Board of Peace.”

It further added, “This simply offers permanent membership to partner countries who demonstrate deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity.”

On Friday (Jan 16), Trump named a cluster of close allies to the board, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Steve Witkoff, a longtime business partner turned negotiator. Trump appointed US Major General Jasper Jeffers to lead an International Stabilisation Force tasked with securing Gaza and training a new police force to replace Hamas. He also named a separate advisory board that includes Blair, Witkoff, Mladenov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, alongside representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the UAE and UN humanitarian coordinator Sigrid Kaag.