Trump's Board of Peace in Gaza: Why the United Nations Cannot Be Bypassed

Can a coalition assembled by the United States that bypasses the United Nations succeed where decades of international diplomacy have struggled? In 2024, Jared Kushner described Gaza's Mediterranean coastline as "very valuable waterfront property" and spoke openly about its economic potential after the war. Two years later, those remarks took on new significance when President Donald Trump established the Board of Peace and appointed Kushner to its Executive Board, where reconstruction, investment, and economic development became central to Gaza's future. Supporters see the Board of Peace as a bold attempt to break decades of diplomatic paralysis through security, governance, and reconstruction. Others warn that rebuilding Gaza without resolving Palestinian sovereignty, statehood, and Israeli military occupation risks turning a political conflict into a long-term development project. Trump's Board of Peace: Why the United Nations Cannot Be Bypassed compares the 2025 United Nations New York Declaration with President Trump's 20-Point Plan, and explains why the UN developed its peacekeeping, humanitarian, legal, and political architecture over nearly eighty years. At stake is more than the reconstruction of Gaza. The deeper question is whether powerful states can replace the international institutions created after World War II, or whether lasting peace still depends on the United Nations. Understanding the United Nations - Quick Insight is a series of concise, accessible books explaining the institutions, legal principles, and political realities that shape the work of the United Nations in an increasingly complex world. Each volume explores a major theme from international law and human rights to diplomacy, peacekeeping, sanctions, genocide, armed conflict, and the United Nations Security Council. Written for general readers interested in current affairs as well as students of International Relations, each book is designed to be read as a standalone guide while forming part of a broader series.