Israel is set to join the “Peace Council” promoted by Donald Trump for managing the situation in Gaza, as announced yesterday by Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington. During the visit, the Israeli Prime Minister held meetings with both the American President and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
After his meeting with the head of American diplomacy, Netanyahu announced via platform X that he signed Israel’s official accession to the “Peace Council,” emphasizing that this development inaugurates a new chapter of cooperation between the two countries.
< lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Met with U.S. Secretary of State @marcorubio at Blair House in Washington.
Ahead of my meeting at the White House with President Trump, I signed Israel’s accession as a member of the “Board of Peace.”
We will continue strengthening the unbreakable alliance between Israel and… pic.twitter.com/CJ4Lw92TdX — Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 11, 2026
It should be noted that a UN Security Council decision, adopted in mid-November 2025, authorized this specific council and cooperating states to form the so-called International Stabilization Force (ISF). This force is expected to be deployed in the Gaza Strip, where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in effect since October 10, based on a plan attributed to Trump.
Israel’s presence in the “Peace Council” is expected to trigger further criticism beyond existing concerns
According to Trump’s plan for Gaza, the “council” will oversee the transitional governance scheme in the Gaza Strip. However, the American president later made it known that he intends the “peace council,” under his leadership, to assume a much broader role in promoting conflict resolution on an international scale.
The first meeting of this body is scheduled for Thursday, February 19th in Washington. It will deal with the future reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which has suffered enormous destruction after two years of war.
Observers note that the fact that Trump chairs a body that will oversee affairs in foreign regions resembles a colonial structure. Israel’s presence in the “peace council” is expected to trigger further criticism. This body does not include any Palestinian officials as members.
Many countries reacted with reservations and some rejected Donald Trump’s invitation to join his initiative in mid-January, as concerns are expressed about the potential to undermine the UN. Although some of Washington’s allies, particularly in the Middle East, joined the “peace council,” many traditional US allies in the West preferred to abstain.
The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been repeatedly violated. At least 580 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, according to health services in the Palestinian enclave. On the other side, four Israeli soldiers have been killed. Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas’s unprecedented raid on the southern part of its territory on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people, has killed over 72,000 people, according to Hamas Health Ministry figures, caused a humanitarian crisis and internally displaced virtually the entire population of the small coastal area.
Human rights experts, researchers and a UN committee consider that genocide has been committed. The Netanyahu government characterizes the war it launched as legitimate defense.
