President Donald Trump signed the charter of the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, ahead of the likely shift to the second phase of the Trump Plan that was announced in October, which effectively ended the 2-year war between Israel and Hamas.
“I ended 8 wars in 9 months, including Thailand-Cambodia, Kosovo-Serbia, Congo-Rwanda, Egypt-Iran, India-Pakistan – two nuclear powers,” Trump declared during his address. He added that work on Egypt-Ethiopia tensions had been “just about settled in the first term, and then we had a rigged election.”
Regarding his approach to conflict resolution, Trump noted a departure from traditional diplomatic channels. “On the eight wars that ended I never spoke with the UN. They didn’t try hard enough,” he said.
Video: Trump launches Board of Peace
Middle East focus
The president devoted considerable attention to Middle Eastern developments, particularly the Gaza situation and hostage negotiations.
“Last October we released a plan for an end to the war in Gaza, and adopted by the Security Council. Under Phase 1, we are going to have to very strongly, maintain the Gaza ceasefire, and record humanitarian aid. You don’t hear that people are starving anymore,” Trump stated.
A slide from the presentation shown by Jared Kushner during the ceremony / Screenshot: YouTube/WhiteHouse
On hostage releases, Trump credited his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s involvement: “We secured the release of all 20 hostages. Jared worked so hard. There were 20 remaining hostages. We got hundreds out but the last ones were hardest. About 28 that were dead, but they wanted them just as much as the living. Sometimes even more.”
He vowed that Hamas will pay a price if it does not return the last remaining deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, and noted that Gaza’s reconstruction was dependent on that.
President Donald Trump sits between President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, right, and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, left, during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 / Credit: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
Addressing Hamas directly, Trump issued a clear ultimatum while presenting a broader reconstruction plan: “We are tracking them all, every single one of them. I have been very clear that Hamas must return that last remaining hostage, and then we get on to other things. Gaza will be beautifully rebuilt and then we can spread out to other things. We are going to be very successful in Gaza, and it will be a great thing to watch. We will do it in conjunction with the UN. It has tremendous potential.”
Trump also addressed the successful June campaign with Israel that hit Iran’s nuclear program: “In June we obliterated Iran’s nuclear capacities. Midnight Hammer – every one of the B-2 bombs went into the air shafts and obliterated [in the underground facilities in Fordo]. They were two months away from a nuclear weapon; we couldn’t let that happen.” He then said, amidst the ongoing tension with Tehran, that diplomacy might still work to defuse the situation, presumably referring to the ongoing threat to use force again either in support of protestors or against the nuclear program. ” They want to talk and we will talk,” he said. Regarding Lebanon, Trump stated: “Hezbollah and Lebanon. We have to do something about that.”
Expanding his vision beyond traditional conflict zones, Trump said: “Many good things are happening in the Middle East. It’s a lot different than a year ago. In Nigeria we are annihilating terrorists who are killing Christians.”
🚨 The Board of Peace Charter is officially ratified in Davos.
The president emphasized broad international support for the peace initiative, noting that “just about every country wants to be a part of it. Letters were sent several days ago. Every one of them is a friend of mine,” referring to the leaders on stage with him rather than the signatories of the letters. The document was signed between Trump and the foreign ministers of Morocco and Qatar. Then, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke, saying: “We are here today because of President Trump’s vision. If we go back just a few months ago, people thought what was happening in Gaza was impossible to solve… No one thought that that would ever come to a resolution without more fighting and more bloodshed… but President Trump had the vision and the courage to dream the impossible, to believe that it was doable, and to pursue it with all of his heart.”
