Trump's Board of Peace has several invited leaders trying to figure out how it'll work

Israel has been asked to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan, an Israeli official said Monday, while France is holding off accepting for now.

It’s not known whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the offer, said the Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a behind-the-scenes diplomatic matter.

Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, Thailand and the European Union’s executive arm also were among the latest to receive invitations.

It’s unclear how many leaders have been asked to join the board, and the large number of invitations being sent out, including to countries that don’t get along, has raised questions about the board’s mandate and decision-making processes. Also unknown is Israel’s potential role on a board in charge of implementing the ceasefire agreement that directly involves them.

A Trump reference in the invitation letters saying that the body would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict” suggested it could act as a rival to the U.N. Security Council, the most powerful body of the global organization created in the wake of World War II.

France, though, does not plan to join the Board of Peace “at this stage” despite receiving an invitation, a French official close to President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. The issue is raising questions, particularly with regard to respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations, said the official, speaking anonymously in line with the French presidency’s customary practices.

Told late Monday that Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon.”

“I'll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he'll join,” Trump told reporters in Florida before a flight back to Washington. “But he doesn't have to join.”

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI accepted a spot Monday, becoming the first Arab leader and at least the fifth world leader to join. Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Argentina also have signed on.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received the invitation, and the Kremlin is now “studying the details” and will seek clarity of “all the nuances” in contacts with the U.S., said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Trump confirmed Monday night that Putin had been invited.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is ready to take part, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry. The Thai Foreign Ministry said it was invited and reviewing the details.

European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, would be speaking to other EU leaders about Gaza. Gill didn't say whether its invitation had been accepted, but that the commission wants "to contribute to a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict.”

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday dismissed the Board of Peace as a raw deal for Israel and called for its dissolution.

“It is time to explain to the president that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and to cancel it," Smotrich said. "Gaza is ours, its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s. We will take responsibility for what happens there, impose military administration, and complete the mission.”

Smotrich, a hard-liner who opposed the Gaza ceasefire, even suggested that Israel renew a full-scale offensive on the territory to destroy Hamas if it doesn't abide by a “short ultimatum for real disarmament and exile.”

Netanyahu said later on Monday that while there are differences with the U.S. about the composition of the advisory committee accompanying the next phase in Gaza, it would not harm his relationship with Trump.

“There will not be Turkish soldiers and Qatari soldiers in the (Gaza) Strip,” he said.

Netanyahu's office earlier said the formation of an executive board that will work to carry out the vision of the Board of Peace wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy” without clarifying its objections. Turkey, a key regional rival, is among those invited to join the committee.

The U.S. is expected to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Board members will oversee an executive committee that will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the Gaza peace plan that includes the deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-devastated territory.

A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership on the board, with the money going to rebuild Gaza, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity about the charter as he wasn’t permitted to speak publicly about details of the board, which hasn't been made public. A three-year appointment has no contribution requirement.

According to the World Bank’s Gaza and West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) report released last year, it’ll take $53 billion to rebuild the strip.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday the United Kingdom is talking to allies about the Board of Peace.

Egypt’s top diplomat on Monday met with the leader of the newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs during the second phase.

Foreign Minister Bader Abdelatty met with Ali Shaath, a Palestinian engineer and former official with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, who was named last week as chief commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

Abdelatty expressed the Egyptian government’s “complete support” of the committee and affirmed its role in running Gaza’s daily affairs until the Palestinian Authority takes over the territory, said a statement from the Egyptian ministry.

The U.N. World Food Program on Monday said it has “significantly expanded” its operations across Gaza 100 days into the ceasefire, reaching more than a million people each month with hot meals and food parcels. But it warned the situation remains “extremely fragile.”

It noted that malnutrition has been prevented for 200,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as children under 5.

The most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, which assessed the situation in October and November, indicated that 77% the population was facing crisis-level food insecurity.

Israeli military and security forces launched what they called a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the West Bank city of Hebron to dismantle “terrorist infrastructure, eliminating illegal weapons possession and strengthening security."

The Israeli military said Monday the operation is expected to continue for several days. Israeli armored vehicles and soldiers patrolled city streets and put up barriers where operations were being conducted.

Hebron Mayor Khaled Dudin said Israeli forces targeted the area that's home to 80,000 people because it obstructs the construction of additional Israeli settlements.

Israeli forces on Monday killed three Palestinians, including a teenager, in southern Gaza, hospital authorities said.

Two men crossed into Israeli-controlled areas east of Khan Younis before being shot dead, while 17-year-old Hussein Tawfiq Abu Sabalah was shot and killed in the Muwasi area of Rafah, according to the Nasser hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the teen had crossed into or came close to the Israeli-controlled area.

More than 460 people were killed by Israeli fire and their bodies brought to hospitals since the ceasefire went into effect just over three months ago, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

This story was first published on Jan. 19, 2026. It was updated on Jan. 20, 2026, to make clear that the IPC figure cited was released in December but assessed the situation in October and November.

Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Sam Metz in Jerusalem, Jill Lawless in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Grant Peck in Bangkok, Thailand contributed to this report.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Palestinians speak with an Israeli soldier during an army raid in the West Bank city of Hebron Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Ali Shaath, head of Palestinian National committee for administering the Gaza Strip, left, meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, at the foreign ministry headquarters in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

Israeli soldiers take up positions during an army raid in the West Bank city of Hebron Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli soldiers take up positions during an army raid in the West Bank city of Hebron Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli soldiers take up positions during an army raid in the West Bank city of Hebron Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — The armed man who rammed his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues has been identified as 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an IR1 immigrant visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Federal investigators have called the crime an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — An attacker armed with a rifle was fatally shot after ramming his vehicle into one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues Thursday in what federal investigators said was an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the incident “deeply disturbing and tragic” and said the FBI is leading the investigation.

The agency considers the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community,” she said at a news conference Thursday. Investigators have not determined a motive yet.

“What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

The vehicle caught fire after crashing into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, just outside Detroit, and driving through a hallway as security opened fire, authorities said.

None of the synagogue’s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood center were injured, Bouchard said.

In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young said Temple security officers “engaged the individual and neutralized the threat.”

The suspect was found dead inside his vehicle, Bouchard said.

Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was standing at the hallway where the crash happened. She said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.

“When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,” Cohen said.

She said a classroom was near where the car rammed the synagogue and, in addition to the children, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.

“Thankfully, we have had many active shooter drills and our staff is prepared for these situations,” she said. “We do go into lockdown.”

Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents, calling them the “true rock stars of the day.”

About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.

Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel’s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.

“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she told the AP. “I was hoping that it was a false report.”

Jacobs, whose family is Jewish, said she tries not to think about all that’s going on in the world.

“You never think that this is actually going to happen to you,” she said. “But I know that it’s — it’s just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.”

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and have been ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.

The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.

And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.

President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a “terrible thing.”

Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, lamented the fact that his organization had to train and prepare for an attack.

“I’d love to say that I’m shocked, that I’m surprised, but I’m not,” he said during a news conference Thursday.

He added: “This will not change us. This will not deter us and we will continue.”

Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there.

“This is heartbreaking,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”

It was the second attack at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website, which says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”

The Jewish Federation of Detroit briefly advised all Jewish organizations in the area to lock down.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, said in a statement that the Michigan attack demonstrates yet again the consequences of hatred.

“We lose our humanity when we seek violent means as a solution,” said Myers, rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 worshippers died in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. “No one should dwell in fear because of who they are.”

This story has been corrected to show that the shooting at a church north of Detroit happened in September, not October.

Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Law enforcement escort families away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard speaks to media as police respond to scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., on Thursday, March 12 2026. (Jacob Hamilton /Ann Arbor News via AP)

Law enforcement escort families with children away from the Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Police respond to scene of a shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., on Thursday, March 12 2026. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A woman gathers children as law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue on Thursday, March 12, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue, Thursday, March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

Law enforcement respond to a call at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

People gather near Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)