Gaza is Trump’s canary in a coal mine

At Davos, US President Donald Trump stole the show with his attempts to take control of Greenland. However, in addition to this proposal, which put him at odds with European leaders, Trump on Thursday held a ceremony unveiling his “Board of Peace.”

Trump is a great showman. The Board of Peace offered a good opportunity for such theatrical politics. All those in the media who have examined the board’s charter say clearly that its mandate extends beyond Gaza and that the board is set to create a mechanism that competes and perhaps replaces the UN as a body to regulate relations between states.

However, in this new structure, absolute power is concentrated in the hands of Trump, who has the only say over the makeup of the board. While there has been much criticism of the board, the fact it rivals the UN and how Trump has used the threat of tariffs to coerce states into joining, no one has asked the fundamental question: Will it bring peace to Gaza?

To start with, the board is offensive because one of the members is Israel, the country that inflicted genocide on Gaza. Other members have no connection with the Strip. Others, like Argentina under its far-right government, were among the 10 nations to vote against a UN resolution backing a two-state solution in 2025. How is Javier Milei of Argentina supposed to advance peace in Gaza? I really don’t know.

Instead of withdrawing, Israel is advancing the so-called yellow line, as if it is trying to throw Gazans into the sea

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

The second phase of Trump’s peace plan — if it were to be successful — would witness the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, reconstruction of the Strip and the presence of an International Stabilization Force to ensure security. To start with, Israel is still in breach of phase one. It did not commit to the ceasefire. Every day, Gazans are getting killed by Israeli strikes. On top of that, instead of withdrawing, Israel is advancing the so-called yellow line, as if it is trying to throw Gazans into the sea. Israel has not shown any intention to withdraw and the chances are it will not.

The other million-dollar question is about the International Stabilization Force: What exactly is its mandate? Trump said that Hamas had agreed to disarm. However, Hamas has very clearly said it is only open to surrendering its arms to a unified Palestinian authority as part of a political solution that includes the end of the Israeli occupation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with almost the entire Israeli political class, has rejected any political solution that involves anything near Palestinian statehood. Trump, in his own unscripted style, said that if Hamas does not disarm, it will get “blown away.” What does that mean? Does it mean the war restarting — the genocide — which would take us back to square one?

Also, what is expected of the forces that will join the stabilization force? Will they have to go door to door and “disarm” Hamas? No state would want to put its soldiers at risk. Also, those who have joined the board to help Gaza would not want to do for Israel the task it was not able to complete in two years of genocide.

The entire project of the Board of Peace is more about theatrics than content. Already, it has been reported that some European states are rethinking their presence in the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre, which was established under phase one of the Gaza peace plan. The center has failed to send sufficient aid to the afflicted Strip despite American claims that the center is fulfilling Gaza’s needs.

Trump should pressure Israel. Unless Israel is pressured to accept Palestinian national aspirations, there will be no peace

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

However, European, Arab and regional countries face a catch-22 situation. By being on this board, they give legitimacy to a framework that was most likely put in place to serve Israel’s interest while pretending to cater to the Palestinian people’s aspirations. On the other hand, if they boycott the board, they will be giving Netanyahu a free hand with the Palestinians.

What is being prepared does not give a very positive indication for the future. For example, villages are apparently being built to house stranded Gazans. This Orwellian project, creating areas known as “alternative safe communities,” is supposed to accommodate 20,000 non-Hamas Gazans. The settlements are being designed to make sure every move, every transaction Gazans make is controlled by Israel. Education will be controlled by Israel, meaning Palestinian national aspirations will be wiped out.

Is this what peace should look like? Will this be peace or submission? Freedom or slavery? However, it all goes back to Israel. Israeli media has reported that members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — Palestinians vetted by the US to run Gaza on a day-to-day basis under the second phase of the peace plan — have been prevented from accessing the Strip. Therefore, it has already started out on the wrong footing.

Trump should pressure Israel. Unless Israel is pressured to accept Palestinian national aspirations, there will be no peace. The US has a lot of leverage over Israel that it can use. Trump should understand that this is not only about Gaza, it is a test of his leadership. If he wants to create this so-called Board of Peace, which he rules, to solve problems and conflicts around the world, he needs to succeed in Gaza first. Gaza is like a pilot project, a canary in a coal mine. If he fails to bring sustainable peace to Gaza and fails to meet the aspirations of the Gazan people, his Board of Peace will not be sustainable.

• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.