Israel formally joined the Board of Peace on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Netanyahu signed the document in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly before his scheduled talk with Trump, marking a diplomatic step as the two leaders prepare to discuss regional security and ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The prime minister said on X that while the talks would cover several issues, including Gaza, they would ‘first and foremost’ center on negotiations with Iran.
Leaders from 17 countries participated in the initial Gaza Board of Peace charter signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, including presidents and other senior government officials from Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and Southeast Asia.
Netanyahu was not present at the ceremony, where world leaders signed the founding charter alongside Trump, who was seated at the center of the stage.
His office, however, said he would accept Trump’s invitation to join the Peace Board, following earlier concerns he had raised about the makeup of the Gaza executive board, particularly the roles of Qatar and Turkey.
A handful of other countries were also invited by the White House to join, including Russia, Belarus, France, Germany, Vietnam, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Greece and China, among others. Poland and Italy on Wednesday said they would not join.
Netanyahu’s visit to Washington comes as the U.S. expands its military presence in the Middle East while talks with Iran remain ongoing.
Trump has deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer, as his envoys meet with Iranian officials in Oman.
Other U.S. naval assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are positioned across key waterways surrounding Iran, from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea.