‘Board of Peace does not reflect UN resolution’: EU challenges Donald Trump’s Gaza plan | World News

A dispute between the United States and the European Union over the future of Gaza has come into the open, after senior European officials criticised US President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace”.Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the board set up under Trump did not match the original United Nations mandate.

“The UN security council resolution provided for a Board of Peace for Gaza,” she said. “But it also provided for it to be limited in time until 2027, it provided for the Palestinians to have a say, and it referred to Gaza, whereas the statute of the Board of Peace makes no reference to any of these things.”

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, center, arrives for the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

She added: “So I think there is a security council resolution but the Board of Peace does not reflect it.”

Kallas said the structure had become a personal vehicle for President Trump and removed accountability to Palestinians and the UN.Story continues below this ad

Spain’s foreign miner José Manuel Albares also accused Washington of trying to pass the original UN mandate and said Europe had been excluded from the process, despite being one of the main funders of the Palestinian Authority.

US rejects criticism, defends ‘focused multilateralism’

US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz rejected the criticism, describing concerns about the board as “hand-wringing”. He said the exing situation, with Hamas in control of Gaza, could not continue.

Waltz confirmed that Indonesia had agreed to contribute 8,000 troops to an International Stabilisation Force, with more countries expected to join. He said some governments were not comfortable sending billions of dollars in reconstruction funding through the UN system.

Defending the adminration’s approach, he described Trump’s policy as “focused multilateralism” and said it was necessary to “put the UN on a diet and make it go back to basics of peacemaking”.Story continues below this ad

Focus on ceasefire, aid and reconstruction

At a separate event, Trump’s appointed high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, avoided engaging in the political dispute and stressed urgent action on the ground.

“All of this needs to move very fast. If we do not, we are not going to implement the second phase of the ceasefire but the second phase of the war,” he said.

Mladenov said humanitarian aid, emergency recovery and security arrangements were needed immediately. He stressed that Gaza must be unified under a technocratic committee, weapons must be decommissioned, and Israeli forces must withdraw before reconstruction can begin.

“If we do not address the issue of Hamas and Gaza itself divided into two parts, please tell me how we get to a two-state solution, because I do not see the pathway,” he said.Story continues below this ad

Impact on two-state solution

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti warned that developments in the West Bank were further weakening hopes for a two-state solution.

“It is not just about accountability for genocide, but who is going to stop this process of killing the two-state solution,” he said.

The public disagreement highlights growing tension between Europe and the US over how Gaza should be governed and rebuilt, as President Trump pushes ahead with his plan.