MEXICO – Mexico on Tuesday declined permanent membership to the Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, due to a lack of Palestinian representation in the board, according to the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.
“Given that we recognize Palestine as a state, it’s important that both states, Israel and Palestine, participate. It isn’t set up that way,” she said at a press conference.
Sheinbaum said her country would send Mexico’s ambassador to the UN as an observer.
“They invited us to attend as observers; if we were not going to participate, then to attend as observers. And together with the foreign minister, we decided that our ambassador to the United Nations would attend as an observer,” she added.
Her remarks came ahead of the inaugural meeting of the board on Thursday in Washington, DC.
Sheinbaum has expressed her support for Palestine, describing Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian people as genocide and calling for a two-state solution.
Despite the US providing at least $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel since the outbreak of the Israeli-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Israel has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, Trump announced a US-led body aimed at restoring peace in the region.
The Board of Peace is made up of staunch US allies in Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and Latin America.
Italy to Join as an Observer
Italy defended its decision to join an upcoming meeting of the Board of Peace in the US strictly as an observer, saying not attending would contradict the Italian Constitution.
Speaking Tuesday in the Lower House, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that Italy will be an observer at Thursday’s inaugural meeting of Board of Peace meeting in Washington, DC.
“Italy’s absence from a discussion of peace in the Mediterranean would not only be politically incomprehensible but also contrary to the letter and spirit of Article 11 of our Constitution, which establishes the rejection of war as a means of resolving disputes,” he was quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA as saying.
He noted that the government has deemed it appropriate to accept the US administration’s invitation to attend, as an observer, the first meeting of the Board of Peace, adding it is “certainly a balanced solution and respectful of our constitutional constraints.”
Italy’s goal is to create the conditions for two states in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine, added Tajani, pointing out that the European Union also confirmed its participation in the Washington meeting as an observer.
“In every contact with the American administration, we have always emphasized the need to ensure strict compliance with the principles of our Constitution and the involvement of Parliament.”
The Board of Peace was established within the framework of efforts towards a peaceful settlement in the Gaza Strip and seeks peacemaking around the world. Washington has said that additional states have since joined the initiative.
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