In an unusual public rift with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply criticized the composition of a newly unveiled Gaza oversight body.

In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Israel said the White House announcement of the Gaza Board of Peace’s executive committee “was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy.”

According to the statement, the executive committee includes senior officials from Turkey and Qatar — two countries that have been highly critical of Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza.

While the broader Gaza Board of Peace is formally chaired by President Trump and comprised of international leaders, Israeli officials emphasized that the executive committee is expected to wield real authority, directly overseeing the postwar management of Gaza. This stands in contrast to the Board of Peace itself, which Israeli officials view as largely symbolic.

Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister instructed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to formally convey Israel’s opposition to the executive committee’s makeup to his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio.

The move is particularly notable as Sa’ar has largely been excluded from Israel–U.S. relations in recent months, with those ties instead being handled directly by Netanyahu’s office and his senior advisers.

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