Israel News for 1-22-2026
News Update
President Trump launched his Board of Peace at the Davos economic forum today. About 35 countries have committed to join, according to U.S. officials. Countries represented at the launch included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, Belarus, Bahrain and Morocco, as well as Argentina, Indonesia, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Paraguay. Israel and Hungary have also said they will join. France, Great Britain aren’t joining and China and Russia are thinking about it, although Trump said that Putin had already agreed to join. Trump has said permanent members would be required to contribute $1 billion each to help fund the board.
The purpose of the Board of Peace is meant to oversee and reinforce the Gaza ceasefire, but Trump seems to have plans to make it into an alternate United Nations. He said, “Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.” He added that the U.N. had “tremendous potential” but had “not been fully utilized.”
Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner said the next phase of the Trump plan following the Gaza ceasefire would focus on governance, security and economic redevelopment, insisting there was “no plan B.” Under the plan, Gaza would be divided into zones, with reconstruction beginning only in areas where weapons are fully removed. According to slides presented by Kushner, Hamas’s heavy weapons would be decommissioned immediately, while small arms would be collected sector by sector by a newly formed Palestinian police force. Only once disarmament is verified would rebuilding begin in each zone and Gaza would, by 2035, become a safe and prosperous place with full employment, an airport and sea port. For more, click here.
Arab media is reporting that agreements have been reached between Hamas and the U.S. under which Hamas would hand over its weapons and provide maps of Gaza’s tunnel network in exchange for international acceptance of Hamas as a political party and amnesty for members of Hamas’ political and military leadership who wish to leave Gaza. Some Hamas police officers and civil officials could be integrated into the new Gaza government, after passing U.S. and Israeli vetting.
