Ex-Dutch PM Kaag joins U.S.-led council to guide Gaza peace efforts
Dutch former Deputy Prime Minister and ex-UN envoy Sigrid Kaag has joined a newly established advisory council aimed at promoting “peace, stability, and prosperity” in Gaza, the White House announced Friday evening. The council will provide guidance to the Palestinian interim government. The Palestinian interim government is part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
Other members of the council include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The White House hinted at the possibility of naming additional members in the upcoming weeks. The so-called Peace Council will have Trump as its chairman.
Witkoff announced earlier this week the start of the second phase of the plan, shortly after the members of the Palestinian interim government were confirmed. He described the phase as “a transition from a ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.”
Kaag served as UN envoy for the Middle East peace process until July 1. She was Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2022 to 2024.
Kaag was first recruited to the Dutch political scene in 2017 by the D66 party, where she served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. In 2024, she resigned from national politics to concentrate on her work with the UN.
