HISTORY may record this as one of the most brazen deceptions of our time. President Donald Trump’s so called Board of Peace — unveiled with much fanfare and presented as the mechanism for rebuilding Gaza — has no money in it. Despite billions pledged by member states, not a single dollar has entered the official World Bank-administered reconstruction fund. The BoP exists but the money does not. This is not bureaucratic delay or administrative failure. It is calculated political theatre led by Mr Trump and his ideological allies. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the Board was meant less as a peace initiative than as a shield against mounting international outrage over Gaza’s destruction. It appears that the intended audience was never the Palestinian people, but the world. For a time, the strategy succeeded. The October 2025 ceasefire announcement softened criticism and gave diplomats something to point towards at the UN. Yet the ceasefire has existed in name only. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since it took effect, while Israeli military operations have continued unabated. Israel now controls more than 60pc of Gaza, including all its entry and exit points. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for that figure to be increased to 70pc. The intent is not difficult to discern. Gaza’s rehabilitation was never the true objective. The promised $71bn reconstruction effort cited in joint international assessments appears hollow. Even the separate JP Morgan account receiving direct donations is said to lack independent transparency requirements. The architecture of this “peace initiative” seems designed not to rebuild Gaza, but to manage the narrative surrounding its destruction.

For those who have watched Palestinians endure two years of war, displacement and loss, the symbolism is devastating. Tens of thousands have been killed, and many more displaced. Entire neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble. And what remains is an empty reconstruction fund, a ceasefire that fails to stop the killing, and a ‘peace board’ functioning largely as a political stage. The people of Gaza have been failed repeatedly; they have been treated not as human beings deserving dignity and protection, but as variables in a geopolitical calculation. What lies ahead is not reconstruction, but the consolidation of occupation. The international community, having accepted announcements and pledges at face value, must confront a grim reality.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026