Trump’s reconstruction promises stall: ‘The door to the future of Gaza is still closed’
Gaza is in a grim limbo more than seven months after Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal: no reconstruction is under way, the so-called Board of Peace is struggling with funding and Palestinian technocrats chosen to run the strip are sidelined in Egypt.
In a 15 May submission to the UN security council, the Board of Peace said the “principal obstacle” to realising Trump’s plan for Gaza was Hamas’s refusal to hand over its weapons and cede control of the strip – but several people familiar with the body said funding shortfalls could jeopardise the effort.
Nine countries pledged $7bn (£5bn) to a “Gaza relief” package at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, which Trump chaired. But only the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have sent funds, according to a person familiar with its operations.
The group has received $23m to fund its operations, as well as an injection of $100m to fund a future Palestinian police force, the person said. In sum, that amounts to $1.75 for every $100 pledged.
The UN has estimated the total cost of rebuilding Gaza to be upward of $70bn over decades.
Several countries that initially pledged funds to the Board of Peace (BoP) are now reluctant to pay, after months of stalled diplomacy and no progress on the ground, according to five people familiar with the organisation.
“Countries are hesitant to pay their portions,” said one diplomat familiar with international negotiations about Gaza, who was not authorised to speak publicly. The Iran war has provided cover for delays to payments, another source said
“Nobody with money and resources wants to work with the Board of Peace,” said a third person familiar with the group’s efforts, who, like others critical of the initiative, asked to speak on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “Lump on the conflict with Iran, and the people with deep pockets now have an excuse not to pay.”
Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat tasked with delivering the US president’s vision as “high representative” for Gaza admitted last week that Palestinians in Gaza had been let down by the world.
“The door to the future of Gaza is still closed. It is not what the Palestinians were promised, and it is not what they deserve,” Mladenov told journalists in Jerusalem. The impasse also jeopardised Israel’s long-term security, he added. [Continue reading…]