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What Path Forward? The Board of Peace, Gaza, and the Future of Multilateralism
Thu, April 9th, 2026
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (EDT)
Live Online
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Amid the fallout from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, the Board of Peace’s promise for regional stability is coming under increased scrutiny. With $4 billion in pledged Gulf investments and persistent questions surrounding World Bank financing, international legality, and Palestinian governance, the Board’s stated objectives appear increasingly difficult to realize. An allusive peace with Iran therefore begs the question: what is in store for the Board of Peace and the future of Gaza?
To examine these evolving regional dynamics and their implications for the Gaza peace process, the Carnegie Endowment’s Middle East program invites you for a panel discussion with Yasmine Farouk, Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Project Director at International Crisis Group; Joseph Saba, senior advisor at the World Bank; Michael Mattler, former assistant legal adviser for Treaty Affairs at the U.S. Department of State; and Muhammad Shehada, visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relation’s Middle East and North Africa programme, moderated by Carnegie Senior Fellow Zaha Hassan.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Event Speakers
Yasmine Farouk
Project Director, Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, International Crisis Group
Yasmine Farouk joined Crisis Group in March 2025 as the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula project director. She leads the organization's research, analysis, policy prescription and advocacy on the Arab Gulf countries and supervises its work on Yemen. Before joining Crisis Group, she served as a senior adviser at the European Institute of Peace, was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and held the position of nonresident scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.
Joseph Saba
Senior Advisor and former Regional Director for the Middle East, World Bank
Joe Saba serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), a non-profit which last year provided over $200 million in humanitarian and development assistance to the forced displaced, their hosts and other vulnerable communities, primarily in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon. At the World Bank, he advises on strategies and operations for assistance to countries facing conflict, displacement, and fiscal distress. He is an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago Law School, where he designed and teaches a course on rule of law for development at Loyola’s PROLAW program in Rome, Italy.
Michael Mattler
Former Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs, U.S. Department of State
During a 30-year career with the U.S. government, Michael Mattler has served in multiple capacities in the U.S. Department of State and on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Most recently, he was the assistant legal adviser for Treaty Affairs from 2014 to 2025, serving as the principal legal adviser to various executive branch agencies on U.S. and international law related to treaties and other international agreements.
Muhammad Shehada
Chief of Communications and Programs, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor
Muhammad Shehada is a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relation’s Middle East and North Africa program. He is a Gazan researcher, writer, and human rights advocate. His work focuses on investigating human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank, with an emphasis on the treatment of migrants, refugees, and civilians in conflict zones. He is currently serving as the chief of communications and programs at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
Zaha Hassan
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Zaha Hassan is a human rights lawyer and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.