Board Of Peace Reportedly Wants To Begin Rebuilding Gaza In Parts Not Controlled By Hamas

The U.S.-led Board of Peace wants to begin its plan for the governance and reconstruction of Gaza in the areas that are not controlled by Hamas. according to a new report.

Negotiations to move forward with the plan have been deadlocked for weeks after the group, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., refused to disarm.

Axios detailed that the 20-point plan to achieve peace in the enclave contemplates a provision allowing the board to advance in areas not controlled by Hamas if a scenario like the current one takes place.

The outlet added that the U.S. has told Israel it does not support resuming the war to deal with the stalemate. Israel currently controls over half of Gaza.

Hamas, which was supposed to give up its heavy weapons and tunnel system in the first step of the agreement, said it won’t do it until Israel abides by its own obligation, including maintaining agreed-upon levels of humanitarian aid and stopping strikes in the enclave.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative, said the body wants to get the Palestinian technocratic government, which has been working in Cairo, to move into the parts of Gaza not controlled by Hamas. It also wants to begin reconstruction there and deploy an International Stabilization Force, as well as a new Palestinian police force that will be trained in Egypt. The technocratic government would later encourage Palestinians to move to the new areas, even though Hamas members has been trying to prevent that.

Hamas has also accused Mladenov of bias towards Israel. Previous reporting has showed that Palestinian factions believe that handing over their weapons must be tied to a comprehensive solution and concrete steps towards self-determination rather than partial agreements, and Israel is unlikely to accept an independent Palestinian state.

Another recent report also cast doubt on the Board of Peace’s ability to move forward due to only receiving a fraction of the $17 billion pledged to the initiative, according to a new report.

Reuters noted that only the U.S., Morocco and the UAE have sent funds so far even though ten countries had pledged funds.

A source cited by the outlet claimed that the war in Iran has “affected everything,” exacerbating already existing funding issues. Without the funding, a Palestinian technocratic committee that would be tasked with replacing Hamas in the enclave can’t enter the strip. They would also face security risks.

Mladenov told Palestinian groups that “no money is currently available” for the effort, according to the outlet. The organization rejected the article, saying: “The Board of Peace is a lean, execution-focused organization that calls ⁠capital as needed. There are no funding constraints. To date, all funding requests have been met immediately and in full.”