New Delhi, Feb. 15 -- The first meeting of the newly announced 'Board of Peace for Gaza' is reportedly scheduled for 19 February in Washington DC. Though invited, India has not yet joined the body, which US President Donald Trump launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. The invitation may be framed as recognition of India's stature as the world's largest democracy. However, it appears less an honour than a test of New Delhi's strategic clarity and moral steadiness at a fraught global moment.

Under the draft charter, Trump would serve as the Board's inaugural chairman with overriding veto authority over its plans and actions. When asked whether the institution might replace the United Nations, he initially replied that it...