DAVOS, Swtizerland (TNND) — President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his "Board of Peace" alongside a group of world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, signaling the beginning of his efforts to maintain a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas.

"This isn’t the United States, this is for the world," he said at the signing, adding, "I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza."

The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, announcing that the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week.

That's after Israel said in early December it would open the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so. Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, is overseeing the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision.

Trump announced 59 countries had signed onto the board, which is charged with "peace-building functions in accordance with international law." Trump will serve as the inaugural chairman, and the founding executive board includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner

Members will receive a permanent seat if they are willing to pay $1 billion, but otherwise will only have a three-year term.

So far, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy, have declined the invitation. Canada has agreed to join the board "in principle," and is still working out the details.

Rubio said that some countries’ leaders have indicated that they plan to join but still require approval from their parliaments, and the Trump administration says it has also gotten queries about membership from countries that hadn’t been invited to participate yet.

Shockingly, Trump confirmed he also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the board, but the Kremlin said the country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before committing.

The idea for the Board of Peace was first introduced in Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan and was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to join after criticizing the committee for including Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi. He said the move was not coordinated with Israel and "runs contrary to its policy."

Months into the ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians continue to suffer the humanitarian crisis unleashed by over two years of war. And violence in Gaza, while not at the same level as before the October ceasefire and hostage deal was agreed on, continues.

Key to the truce continuing to hold is the disarming of Hamas, something the militant group that has controlled the Palestinian territory since 2007 has refused to do and that Israel sees as non-negotiable.

_____

Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.