New York: Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has collected just a sliver of the $17 billion pledged by global partners for Gaza’s revival, coming in the way of the US president’s ambitious plans to rebuild and govern the devastated Palestinian enclave, Reuters reported.
Just 10 days before US and Israel launched strikes on Iran to spark a deadly conflict in West Asia, Trump convened a Washington summit where Gulf Arab nations pledged billions for Gaza following Israel’s two-year onslaught — triggered by Hamas attacks on Israel — and the subsequent withdrawal of IDF forces.
The commitments were earmarked to support the fledgling National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a US-supported team of Palestinian experts poised to wrest control from Hamas, the militant group whose assaults on Israel ignited the Gaza war.
A source closely involved in the peace board’s workings revealed that merely three out of ten pledging nations — the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and the United States — have delivered funds, which are well
“The Iran war has affected everything,” compounding earlier hurdles, a source explained.
Funding and security constraints have barred NCAG from accessing Gaza.
Since the October ceasefire, Israeli operations have claimed at least 700 lives in Gaza, according to local health authorities, while militants have killed four Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli reports.
Another source, a Palestinian official, disclosed that the board alerted Hamas and fellow-Palestinian groups to NCAG’s inability to enter Gaza owing to funding woes.
“No money is currently available,” the official quoted board envoy Nickolay Mladenov as telling Palestinian factions.
Hamas has consistently expressed willingness to transfer authority to NCAG, headed by Ali Shaath, ex-deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority that holds partial self-governance in segments of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Shaath’s panel is tasked with overseeing Gaza’s ministries and policing duties.
Rebuilding Gaza, where four-fifths of structures were razed in two years of Israeli airstrikes, is estimated by international bodies to require about $70 billion.
Egypt, mediator of the disarmament negotiations, has summoned Hamas for additional sessions on Saturday, said a source within the group.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has indicated preparations for rapid escalation to full war if Hamas refuse to surrender arms.
The Gaza conflict erupted after Hamas suddenly attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilians as per Gaza Health ministry data, while triggering famine and mass displacement across the enclave.
