Marrakech – More than four months after Donald Trump launched his Board of Peace to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, the body’s official fund has not received a single dollar from the countries that pledged billions to it.
According to the Financial Times, the World Bank-administered fund endorsed by the UN has received nothing since the board’s creation in January. “Zero dollars have been deposited,” one of four sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper. The account remains empty, with no money spent on rebuilding the devastated territory.
A source familiar with the board told AFP that money had not been deposited because the fund was designed for the reconstruction and development phase, which has not yet been reached. Member states had pledged about $7 billion, while Trump promised a further $10 billion in US support.
Donors have bypassed the official channel. Contributions have instead been routed through a JPMorgan account the board controls directly, an arrangement the FT noted carries no independent transparency requirements.
A board official told The Telegraph that several funding options existed and that members had chosen mechanisms outside the World Bank route, adding that finances would be reported to the board’s own executive board “at a time deemed appropriate.”
The pledges that have been honored remain limited. Morocco contributed approximately $3 million, and the UAE $20 million. The combined funds finance the office of Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s high representative for postwar Gaza, and salaries for the Palestinian technocratic committee formed to administer the Strip.
The UAE allocated an additional $100 million to train a new Gaza police force, but the money is frozen, and the program has not begun.
Read also: What Are Morocco’s Commitments to Gaza Under Trump’s Board of Peace?
Promised US funding has not materialized on the ground either. Washington intends to redirect about $1.2 billion in existing aid toward the board’s objectives, though none of it has been spent, and a congressional aide indicated the money would not be managed by the body. A further $50 million earmarked for board operations has not been released, pending the financial controls required to receive US funds.
The pattern was visible earlier in the year. A Reuters investigation published on April 10 found that of the ten countries that pledged funds, only Morocco, the UAE, and the US had transferred money, with the total received standing at under $1 billion against the $17 billion announced at a Washington conference in February.
Trump described the board as one of the most consequential international organizations ever created, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner promoted visions of an AI-powered Gaza with luxury developments. Yet an EU, UN, and World Bank assessment in April estimated that rebuilding Gaza will require more than $71 billion over the next decade.
The board has tendered for security and reconstruction work but awarded no contracts. Its legal status remains unsettled, with US lawmakers questioning whether it qualifies as an international organization eligible for American funds. France and Britain declined to join.
The October ceasefire remains fragile. At least 910 people have been killed since it took effect, and Israel still controls more than 60% of the territory.
