Zürcher Nachrichten - Trump unveils Board of Peace, 'New Gaza' plans at Davos

Trump officials also unveiled ambitious plans for a "New Gaza" during the ceremony at the World Economic Forum, with the US leader describing the devastated Palestinian territory as "great real estate."

The board was created after Trump expressed frustration at failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize and ramped up his accusations that the United Nations had failed to resolve a host of international conflicts.

"Well this is exciting," Trump said as he was joined on stage by leaders and officials from 19 countries to sign the Board of Peace's founding charter in the Swiss ski resort

"This board has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created," he said.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the reconstruction of the strip after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, sparking concerns that the US president wants to create a rival to the UN.

However, countries have been asked to pay $1 billion for permanent membership of the board.

And the invitation for Russia's Vladimir Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has sparked controversy.

- Gaza 'master plan' -

Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts, with London saying Thursday it would not attend the ceremony.

Trump however told the gathering of the global elite in the Swiss mountain resorts that the organisation would work "in conjunction" with the United Nations.

A large part of the ceremony was devoted to talking about its plans for shattered Gaza.

Gaza's newly appointed administrator said in a video message that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen in both directions next week.

Then Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, like the president a former property developer, showed slides of what he billed a "master plan" for its reconstruction.

The slides included maps of new settlements in the Gaza Strip and artist renderings of gleaming seafront hotels and apartments under the caption "New Gaza".

"It could be a hope. It could be a destination," Kushner said.

Trump however told Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it would be the "end of them". He added that he was ready to "talk" with regional foe Iran.

- 'Not so popular' -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, had said he would join but was not at the ceremony.

The representatives of the 19 countries on stage with Trump included two close populist allies, Hungary's Viktor Orban and Argentina's Javier Milei, and officials from a host of Middle Eastern monarchies that want to curry favour.

Trump joked that they were "in most cases very popular leaders, some cases not so popular".

"That's the way it goes in life," he said.

Trump said he expected around 50 countries to join but the full extent of its membership remains unclear.

Egypt said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had accepted Trump's invitation to join but he was not on stage.

Trump meanwhile said Putin had agreed to join, though the Russian leader said he was still studying the invite.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met Trump at Davos on Thursday, has also been invited but has said that he could not envisage working alongside arch-foe Putin.

Zelensky has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump's push to seize Greenland -- which dominated Davos on Wednesday -- could divert focus away from Russia's invasion.

Trump however said late Wednesday he had reached a "framework of a future deal" and would waive tariffs on European allies.

burs-dk

O.Pereira--NZN