A Palestinian journalist in Gaza described the proposed arrangement as a trap rather than a peace deal. The Board of Peace associated with President Donald Trump has raised billions since January but has no money allocated for reconstruction of Gaza. Financial reporting states that zero dollars were deposited into the board’s financial fund, while donations were received directly into a JP Morgan account that can override transparency rules. At an inaugural meeting, member states pledged $7 billion and Trump promised an additional $10 billion for relief and reconstruction. Morocco and the UAE contributed to the JP Morgan account, funding the director-general’s position and salaries for Palestinian technocrats, while a UAE police-training program remains frozen and not started.
"“For us, it doesn't look like a peace deal, it looks like a trap,” said Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza."
"President Donald Trump's “Board of Peace” fund has no money for the reconstruction of Gaza, despite raising billions of dollars since January. On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that “Zero dollars have been deposited” into the board's financial fund - but that the body has received donations directly into its JP Morgan bank account, which allows it to override transparency regulations."
"At its inaugural meeting in February, member states pledged $7 billion for the Board of Peace's relief and reconstruction package for Gaza, and Trump promised an additional $10 billion. The Financial Times reported that earlier this year, Morocco contributed $3 million and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) $20 million to the board's JP Morgan account, and that this funding has helped cover the position of Nickolay Mladenov, the “director-general” of the Board of Peace, as well as salaries for the Palestinian technocrats selected by the board to govern Gaza."
"The UAE also provided $100 million to train a new police force in Gaza - but the funds are frozen and the program has not started. In April, a U.S. official traveled to Saudi Arabia to ask its leaders to follow up on its $1 billion pledge to the board, as it had become concerned that funds were not materializing, according to Middle East Eye. Officials claimed that the U.S. has been relying on the Gulf region to fund the board."
#gaza-reconstruction #board-of-peace #us-foreign-policy #transparency-and-funding #middle-east-gulf-funding
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