Why is Trump's Gaza Board of Peace facing a funding shortfall?

A US-led board overseeing Gaza reconstruction faces a severe cash crunch that threatens a $70bn reconstruction plan. The board reports a critical gap between financial commitments and actual disbursements, warning of an urgent liquidity crisis. Experts say the shortfall is not only administrative and that Arab and European donors hesitate because of the board’s controversial structure, the absence of a viable political horizon for a Palestinian state, and Israel’s continued military expansion in Gaza. An aid expert says publicized pledges resemble a talk show rather than a humanitarian effort, noting that out of $17bn pledged, no liquidity has reached the ground. Donors fear engaging with a board that lacks political vision and treats Gaza as an American security protectorate. The gap between pledges and disbursements is described as a historical pattern in Palestinian aid, with the US cited as having a poor track record since Oslo.

"The US-led board recently reported a critical gap between its financial commitments and actual disbursements, warning of an urgent liquidity crisis, according to the Reuters news agency. However, experts tracking international aid to Palestinians said the funding shortfall is neither surprising nor purely administrative. Instead, they argued that the reluctance of Arab and European donors stems from the board's controversial structure, a lack of a viable political horizon for a Palestinian state and Israel's ongoing military expansion across the besieged enclave."

"Moath al-Amoudi, an expert in international aid to Palestinians, told Al Jazeera that the heavily publicised pledges are closer to a talk show than a genuine humanitarian effort. Out of the $17bn pledged, the actual liquidity that has reached the ground is zero, al-Amoudi said. Donors are terrified of engaging with a board that carries no political vision and treats Gaza merely as an American security protectorate."

"The gap between pledges and actual disbursements is a historical constant in the Palestinian context, but the US has a particularly poor track record, al-Amoudi noted. After the 1993 Oslo Accord, the international community fulfilled only 70 percent of its commitments. The agreement, brokered by the US, saw the Palestinians and Israelis agree to recognise each other for the first time and led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank."

Read at www.aljazeera.com