Trump's Board of Peace Stalls on Gaza Refugee Camp Construction

The international body established by President Donald Trump, the Board of Peace, is facing significant challenges in turning its ambitious reconstruction rhetoric for the Gaza Strip into reality, with a pilot refugee camp yet to break ground. Despite unveiling a masterplan envisioning a transformed coastal enclave, the board has struggled to move beyond preliminary stages. A key proposal to build a camp near Rafah to serve tens of thousands of displaced people remains in limbo, hampered by a lack of Israeli approval for an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police contingent to operate in the territory. Funding is also a critical issue; the World Bank has reportedly not received billions in pledged donor contributions, including from the United States. Progress is not expected until after the Israeli elections in late October, a political timeline that prolongs the suffering of over two million displaced Gazans. Complicating matters further, negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups remain deadlocked, a condition the Board’s High Representative Nickolay Mladenov insists is a prerequisite for full reconstruction support.