Countries say the council aims to help rebuild the Gaza Strip and promote a “just and lasting peace.”
Published January 21, 2026
Eight countries from the Middle East and Asia have announced plans to join US President Donald Trump’s so-called “peace commission” in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to ensure a “durable ceasefire” in the shelled Palestinian enclave.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced in a joint statement on Wednesday that they would join President Trump’s council.
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“The Cabinet reiterates each country’s support for the peace efforts led by President Trump,” the statement said.
It added that the Council’s mission is to “strengthen a durable ceasefire, support the reconstruction of Gaza, and promote a just and lasting peace based on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and statehood under international law, thereby paving the way to security and stability for all states and peoples in the region.”
The announcement came days after the White House announced the composition of a “peace commission.” The commission is part of President Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
The board, which includes Trump’s senior advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will oversee the Palestinian Board of Engineers, which is tasked with managing day-to-day operations on the Strip.
Palestinians in Gaza, who continue to face deadly Israeli military attacks and restrictions on humanitarian aid, are questioning how the US-led mechanism will work in practice.
Observers have also expressed concern about Trump’s inclusion of several staunch Israel supporters on his Peace Commission and the inclusion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, announced that he would join the mechanism.
Abu Ramzi al-Sandawi, a resident of Gaza, rejected Netanyahu and accused the Israeli prime minister of being the “leader of the Gaza war.”
“He destroyed our entire world,” al-Sandawi told Al-Jazeera in Gaza City. “It is known that Netanyahu is the cause of this war.”
At least 466 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.
