US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has proposed a six-month plan for the reconstruction and governance of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, costing some $2.45 billion (roughly €2.15 billion).
The plan was unveiled during a meeting on Wednesday.
It involves a 66-project blueprint to kick things off, but acknowledges the enormous hurdles that must be overcome to rebuild the devastated enclave, where last October’s ceasefire has only slowed Israeli attacks.
What do we know about the Board of Peace Gaza reconstruction plans?
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who serves on the organization’s executive board, said that Palestinians in Gaza “don’t need a slogan; they need a solution.”
The reconstruction and governance projects include estimated spending for:
- Temporary housing
- Rubble removal
- Hospital repairs
- Economic recovery
- Deployment of a multinational security force
The initiatives are all designed to support Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.
“The need is immense,” the board said, estimating that full reconstruction will cost roughly $35.2 billion over the medium term and another $71.4 billion in the next decade.
The proposal also calls for repairing border crossings, restoring electricity and water infrastructure, deploying 25,000 portable solar power kits and permanently filling tunnels beneath sites needed for priority reconstruction projects, as per an Axios report released ahead of the meeting.
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Where do things stand in Gaza now?
Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which ushered in the October 10 ceasefire last year, included:
- Additional Israeli military withdrawals from Gaza
- The disarmament of the Palestinian militant group Hamas
- The arrival of an international peacekeeping force
- A new apolitical Palestinian government to administer the territory’s day-to-day business
However, almost a year on, completion of the plan has remained elusive..
Israel still occupies roughly 60% of the territory and regularly carries out deadly attacks it says target Hamas militants. Gaza health authorities say over 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the ceasefire. The Israeli military says four of its soldiers have been killed.
Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by several countries, has thus far not given up its weapons, despite on some occasions expressing its readiness to do so. Israel has said it will not withdraw from areas it occupies until the group fully disarms and is removed from the enclave.
Meanwhile, most Palestinians continue to live in tent camps or ruins of their former homes, with no international military force or new government materializing.
The Board of Peace’s high representative, Nikolay Mladenov, has said that progress relies heavily on Hamas disarming, but he has also called on Israel to scale back its military operations.
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