Haaretz: Trump seeks to create a competing body for the United Nations through the Peace Council

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper said on Saturday that the “Peace Council” charter announced by US President Donald Trump to administer the Gaza Strip shows that he has begun steps to establish a competing body for the United Nations.

“The text of the charter of the Peace Council, the body established by the US president to administer the Gaza Strip, indicates that the president has begun steps to transform it into a competing body for the United Nations,” according to Haaretz.

The document sent to the heads of state, accompanied by an invitation to join the council, stated that the council would work to restore credible governance and ensure sustainable peace in conflict zones.

The document contained many implicit criticisms of the UN, as peace requires pragmatic wisdom, logical solutions, and courage to break away from approaches and institutions that have repeatedly failed, and stresses the need for a more effective body for peace.

Sources confirmed to Haaretz that the Peace Council was established not only to operate in the Gaza Strip, but all over the world.

According to one of these sources, “US officials pushing for the council believe that it will be a United Nations-like organization, where selected countries sit and make decisions about the world”.

A Western diplomat told Haaretz, without naming him, that his country fears the move, which would create a parallel mechanism to the United Nations without the basis of international law.

Another source said: “This is an experiment in the conservative world of diplomacy… There are those who are now trying to change the rules in place, and everyone is waiting and waiting”.

On January 8, Trump signed a presidential order ordering the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations, including 31 United Nations.

The White House said at the time that Trump had signed an order to withdraw from 66 international organizations that no longer serve US interests.

The statement explained that the decision was made because of the actions of these international organizations in a way that is contrary to the national interests of the United States, without specifying the names of the organizations included in the withdrawal.

In the first days of his second presidential term, which began on January 20, 2025, the US president withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and suspended funding allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

On Thursday, Trump announced the establishment of a peace council and officially entering the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.