AhlulBayt News Agency: The former head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) office has stated that US President Donald Trump’s newly announced “Board of Peace” is essentially a structural extension of Israeli occupation, pushing Washington toward a colonial-style administration of Gaza.
In a post on X, Craig Mokhiber—who resigned in October 2023 in protest against what he described as Israel’s genocide in Gaza—argued that Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” is both structurally and functionally an extension of the occupation, led by one of the perpetrators of genocide with the authoritative involvement of the other.
He emphasized: “The occupation of Gaza is unlawful under international law. Israel and the US are committing genocide in Gaza. Both the occupation and the genocide violate the highest principles of international law (‘jus cogens & erga omnes’), which cannot be legitimized by Trump’s colonial edict, any ultra vires resolution of the Security Council, or agreements by the occupied Palestinian Authority.”
Trump has announced the executive members of Gaza’s “Board of Peace,” a body he claims will oversee transitional governance in the besieged territory.
The White House’s proposed Gaza council, headed by Trump, is filled with pro-Israel figures and Western elites.
Mokhiber warned: “Any state or individual that participates in this unlawful body is complicit in the grave international crimes of the US-Israel Axis, for which they could and should be held accountable.”
He added that “the world is now watching to see who stands with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, and who sides with their oppressors in the colonial ‘Board of Peace.’”
This move comes as most of the commitments outlined in Trump’s 20-point plan—which formed the basis of the ceasefire announced three months ago—have failed to materialize.
Phase one was supposed to halt the fighting, facilitate the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian captives, define boundaries for Israel’s withdrawal from parts of Gaza, ensure the full entry of humanitarian aid, and reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
The former UN human rights official stressed that Palestinians, under international law, retain the right to resist military occupation, including through armed resistance.
He concluded: “As a matter of international law, the Palestinian people have the right to resist foreign occupation, colonial domination, and racist regimes. People worldwide also have the right to stand in solidarity with Palestinians in this struggle.”
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