- January 21, 2026
- 9:18 am
- World News
The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu announced the country’s joining of the so-called Peace Council, promoted by US President Donald Trump. The decision was made following an official invitation from Washington and confirmed by the Prime Minister’s office. Thus, Israel became one of the first countries to agree to participate in the new international format, which Trump positions as an alternative to existing global institutions.
The Peace Council is being formed against the backdrop of a noticeable split among US allies. Previously, Azerbaijan announced its joining of the initiative, and the participation of Russia and Belarus was also confirmed, with the Lukashenko regime agreeing almost immediately. In Europe, the only leader openly supporting the project was Viktor Orban. Most European countries, including Germany and United Kingdom, preferred to distance themselves, stating that such a structure undermines the work of international organizations.
Particular attention was drawn to the position of France. President Emmanuel Macron publicly refused to participate, after which Trump made sharp statements and threats of economic pressure, including a possible increase in tariffs on French wine. These episodes intensified criticism of the Council as a tool of political pressure rather than a neutral platform for conflict resolution.
According to the draft charter, Donald Trump plans to head the Peace Council indefinitely. In fact, it is a lifetime chairmanship, where future US presidents can only appoint a formal representative without gaining real control over the structure. The document also stipulates that heads of state retain their place in the Council even if they lose elections, which directly concerns Netanyahu’s participation.
The issue of Ukraine’s participation became one of the most sensitive. Ukraine indeed received an invitation, confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, he openly stated his lack of understanding of how Ukraine can be in the same format with Russia. According to Zelensky, it is not only about the Peace Council but about the fundamental impossibility of joint participation of a victim country of aggression and an aggressor state. He separately emphasized that Russia and the Lukashenko regime are associated not with peace, but with war.
Initially, Trump’s initiative was conceived as a mechanism for controlling the implementation of agreements around the Gaza Strip, but over time the project began to take on a broader character. Trump increasingly speaks of the Peace Council as a structure capable of replacing the United Nations, which he has repeatedly called ineffective. Additional questions are raised by the financial model of the Council: there is discussion of a contribution of one billion dollars for permanent membership, which intensifies criticism of the project as a closed club with concentrated power.
For Israel, participation in the Peace Council means inclusion in a new, yet unstable architecture of global politics. Against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East, and a crisis of trust in international institutions, the very creation of such a body has already become a factor of geopolitical pressure. It is in this context that NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency views Netanyahu’s decision not as a formal diplomatic step, but as an element of a broader transformation of the global decision-making system, the consequences of which are only beginning to emerge.
