Leaders and representatives of at least 18 nations were on stage.

EU leaders are discussing in Brussels whether to give a united response to join the Board while France, Sweden and Denmark declined.

By JNS and European Jewish Press

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launched his Board of Peace at a ceremony on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, attended by representatives of at least 18 nations.

Leaders and representatives from Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan were among those on stage as Trump spoke during the signing ceremony, The Guardian reported.

The board, which will initially focus on solidifying the ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, “can do pretty much whatever we want to do” once it is “completely formed,” said Trump in remarks.

“And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” he added.

“I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it, but there’s tremendous potential in the United Nations, and you have some great people at the United Nations,” the president said.

“You know, on the eight wars that I ended, I never spoke to the United Nations about any of them,” he went on. “They tried, I guess, in some of them, but they didn’t try hard enough.”

The Board of Peace can be “something very, very unique for the world,” Trump continued. “The first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world are unfolding right before your very eyes.”

The new body will seek to end “decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting and glorious peace for that region and for the whole region of the world,” he said.

“We’re going to have peace in the world,” the president declared.

As the signing ceremony got underway, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared, “The charter is now in full force, and the Board of Peace is now an official international organization.”

Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy for peace missions, told attendees that Trump “created a sense of hope for what the future can bring in Gaza and in all other places where the Board of Peace will operate.

“I remember when the president asked Jared [Kushner], I, and of course our great secretary of state [Marco Rubio] to work on something that the world thought was impossible and unattainable,” the envoy said in his speech. “But the president—on this peace deal for Gaza, as on all other deals we work on his behalf—said we had to try and, of course, we were inspired by that.

“We have achieved a peace deal in Gaza. We have brought the hostages home all of the bodies, except for one, and we will bring that body home too,” Witkoff vowed.

Witkoff thanked “my good friend from Qatar,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.

During the event, Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a Middle East real estate developer, presented plans to disarm Hamas and develop the Gaza Strip into a free market hub for tourism with an airport and seaport after U.S.-backed reconstruction efforts conclude by 2035.

Netanyahu on Wednesday accepted Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace. While the body’s efforts will initially focus on Gaza, it “is like a new United Nations,” Netanyahu told Knesset lawmakers on Monday.

Speaking in Davos on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that the Board of Peace has “some controversial people. But these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. If I put all babies on the board, that wouldn’t be very much.”

He continued, “I think the Board of Peace will be the most prestigious board ever, and it’s going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should’ve done. And we’ll work with the United Nations, but the Board of Peace is going to be special. We’re going to have peace.”

Trump went on to mention the U.S. military strikes against Iran’s nuclear project in June as the platform that facilitated peace in the Middle East.

“It started off with Gaza in the Middle East. We’ve got peace in the Middle East. Tremendous peace in the Middle East. Nobody thought that was possible. And that happened by taking out the Iran nuclear threat. Without that, it could’ve never happened,” said Trump.

The EU is looking for a united response to Trump’s invitation to join the Board

So far, Hungary has agreed to join Trump’s Board of Peace while France and Sweden have publicly declined, citing this risk of duplicating and  weakening the U.N.’s role as the primary international mediator in Gaza. Denmark has also confirmed it will not participate, amid tensions over Greenland.

EU leaders who are meeting informally on Thursday in Brussels mainly to discuss the Greenland issue are to seek a united EU response to Trump’s invitations which has been sent to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen personally.

The initiative for a multinational body to administer Gaza is widely seen in Brussels and national capitals as an attempt to create a parallel structure to the United Nations.

But skepticism is also linked to the decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin and to reports that a $1 billion buy-in is required for permanent status in the Board.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her country was “interested” in Trump’s proposal, but stressed Italy could not join immediately due to constitutional constraints. Germany remains undecided.

Putin’s involvement prompted the U.K. to reject its participation, while Sir Tony Blair is involved in a personal capacity.

Trump’s Board of Peace appears to be the main diplomatic driver towards a postwar resolution for Gaza, despite no agreed mechanism for governance, security or reconstruction.

Central to these deliberations is the question of Hamas’s future role. In their latest statements Hamas has signalled conditional willingness to disarm but has attached a series of far-reaching demands:

• • Retaining Hamas-affiliated civil servants within a future Gaza administration, including integrating hundreds of Hamas police into a new Palestinian security force.
  • Recognition of Hamas as a legitimate political party eligible for future elections, and immunity guarantees for senior leaders.
  • Hamas has also demanded permission for a limited number of armed operatives to remain in Gaza to provide personal protection for its leadership over an extended period.

These proposals have been conveyed both to mediators and to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has thus far rejected them outright, viewing them as incompatible with restoring PA’s authority in Gaza and with broader security sector reform.

Turkish mediators have played a prominent role in advocating a pragmatic approach to Hamas’s leadership, arguing that addressing personal security concerns is necessary to unlock progress. The US has not yet publicly articulated its position on these specific demands.

Israeli intelligence assessments indicate that Hamas retains significant residual military capabilities, including tens of thousands of small arms, anti-tank weapons, mortars and a limited number of rockets — underscoring the scale of the disarmament challenge. They remain wary of the ‘Hezbollarisation’ of a militarised Hamas operating under the control of a new civilian leadership, as happened in Lebanon for many years.

In addition there are reports suggesting senior Hamas figures are preparing to leave Gaza as part of a broader second-stage arrangement. Turkey has been cited as a potential destination, though not all commanders are reportedly willing to leave.

On the ground, Israel remains vigilant over small scale but almost daily attempts of Hamas terrorists to cross the yellow line and attack IDF forces. In response the IDF have continued to target Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure.

The U.S. has reinforced pressure on Hamas through expanded sanctions, targeting organisations and individuals accused of providing financial and organisational support under the guise of humanitarian activity. This signals a coordinated effort to combine diplomatic incentives with economic coercion.

It has been 839 days since the war began, and Israeli officials hope for a breakthrough in the efforts to locate the remains of the last deceased hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili. There was cautious but renewed optimism following President Trump’s comments earlier this week that Gvili’s location was known. While no real progress has been made, Israeli officials hope that a breakthrough will arrive once the technocratic government that is to administer the Gaza Strip’s affairs is formed.

Bicom also contributed to this report.