Trump’s Board of Peace: How Qatar and Turkey Could Be Its Secret Weapon

Among the founding members of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, two nations stand out as potentially the most consequential for the board’s actual effectiveness — not because of their military or economic power, but because of their unique relationships with Hamas: Qatar and Turkey.
Qatar has hosted senior Hamas political leadership for years and played a central role in brokering the ceasefire that the board is now supporting. Turkey has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights and maintains close relationships with Hamas’s political leadership. Both countries have channels of communication and influence that the United States and Israel simply do not have.
Israel has expressed deep suspicion about their presence on the board — a suspicion that is understandable given those relationships. But the same relationships that make Qatar and Turkey suspect from Israel’s perspective are precisely what make them potentially invaluable to the board’s mission. Any realistic progress on Hamas disarmament — or even a negotiated weapons freeze — runs through the channels those countries maintain.
The diplomatic challenge is managing this tension productively. Qatar and Turkey’s presence needs to translate into genuine leverage over Hamas’s behavior, not simply into protection of Hamas’s interests within the board’s deliberations. If they can be effective intermediaries who press Hamas toward workable disarmament arrangements, their presence is an asset. If they use their position to dilute disarmament demands, Israel’s concerns will be vindicated.
As Trump’s Board of Peace held its first meeting Thursday, the role that Qatar and Turkey will play — as genuine bridge-builders or as Hamas’s diplomatic shield — was one of the most important questions about the institution’s future effectiveness.