The US president signed the board\u2019s charter at a ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.<\/b>
\nUS President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel\u2019s war with Hamas, insisting that \u201ceveryone wants to be a part\u201d of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations – despite many US allies opting not to participate.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future for the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by a dramatic retreat from that push.
\u201cThis isn\u2019t the United States, this is for the world,\u201d Trump said, adding, \u201cI think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.\u201d
The event came as Ali Shaath, head of the new technocratic government in Gaza, said the Rafah border crossing would open in both directions next week. That\u2019s after Israel said in early December it would open the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so.
The new board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious – and scepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington take a pass.<\/p>\n