France Declines Trump's Board of Peace Invitation, Source Confirms

France intends to decline an invitation to Trump's Board of Peace, a spokesperson for President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday evening. A spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry said that they "are examining the text and its provisions carefully, as its scope extends beyond Gaza." He added, "However, France does not intend to accept the offer at this time." "France remains fully committed to a cease-fire in Gaza and a credible political perspective for Palestinians and Israelis." On the immediate situation, they reiterated "the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2803 to strengthen humanitarian aid to Gaza." The ministry also stressed that "we remain committed to the UN Charter, the cornerstone of effective multilateralism, where international law, sovereign equality of states, and peaceful dispute resolution prevail." Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ‌and U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump discussed developments in ‌Syria in a phone ‍call on Monday, the Syrian presidency ‍said. The two urged ‌preserving the rights of Kurdish people within the Syrian state and agreed to continue cooperation to ‌combat the Islamic State, the presidency added. On Sunday, the Syrian government ‌signed ‍a sweeping integration deal with ⁠the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic forces, though tensions persisted the following day. Haredi extremists are protesting in Jerusalem against the autopsies of the bodies of the two babies who died on Monday at a daycare center in the city. Earlier on Monday, the Attorney General's Office requested permission from families for an autopsy on the two babies. Police announced that Jerusalem District Police and Border Guard forces have been called to the protest sites to restore public order, after protesters blocked traffic and burned trash bins. Another protest demonstration was reported in Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. The Trump administration is reportedly considering offering asylum to British Jews, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer told The Telegraph on Sunday, citing concerns that the United Kingdom is "no longer a safe place for Jews." Robert Garson, Trump's lawyer, told The Telegraph that he had held talks with the State Department on granting asylum to British Jews who leave their country due to antisemitism. Citing the 2025 Yom Kippur terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue and the post-October 7 surge in antisemitism, Garson said that granting asylum to U.K. Jews "is certainly not an unattractive proposition." Dozens of senior Israeli physicians warned the Knesset's Health Committee on Sunday that Israeli plans to resign from the World Health Organization would lead to "significant harm to national security and the health of its citizens." The committee, headed by far-right lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech from Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, is expected to hold a hearing regarding Israel's membership in the WHO on Tuesday. Son Har-Melech, one of the withdrawal initiative's supporters, had previously charged the organization with antisemitism, supporting Hamas and promoting progressive "pedophilic" content. In previous hearings, officials who support leaving the WHO focused on slamming the organization, often using unfounded claims, and attacking officials who back Israel remaining in the organization. Here are the latest updates from Monday on Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the wider Middle East: ■ Prime Minister Netanyahu received an invitation to join Trump's Board of Peace⁠, according to two sources. ■ President ⁠Trump has ‌invited Belarus, Poland, Germany and France to ‍join his Board of Peace. ■ President Trump says he no longer feels bound to pursue peace after Nobel Committee declined to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, according to media reports. ■ Three Palestinians were killed by IDF fire in the Gaza Strip throughout Monday, medical sources said. ■ Senior IDF officials say Trump's Gaza plan strengthens Hamas and undermines Israel's security needs, security sources say. ■ Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond vigorously to any attack by Iran in an address to the Knesset. ■ Netanyahu declared that Turkish and Qatari soldiers will not be in the Gaza Strip in a Knesset speech. ■ MK Yair Lapid and Yair Golan condemned violence and lawlessness in the West Bank, calling it a threat to Israel's rule of law. ■ The Iranian authorities pledged to lift the block on the internet by Friday, according to a government statement by the Vice President.