Reuters Report Denied.. "Peace Council" Led by Trump: Funding Faces No Hurdles

SadaNews - The "Peace Council" chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump stated after midnight Friday-Saturday that it faces no hurdles regarding funding, and that all requests have been met "immediately and completely" until now.

Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported citing sources that the Peace Council had received only a small portion of the $17 billion pledged for Gaza, preventing Trump from moving forward with his plan for the devastated Palestinian sector.

Ten days before the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that plunged the region into war, Trump hosted a conference in Washington where several countries pledged billions of dollars to manage and rebuild Gaza, after Israel inflicted widespread destruction on it over two years.

The plan envisions a large-scale reconstruction of the coastal area after disarming the Palestinian "Hamas" movement, whose attacks on Israel led to the assault on Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The financial commitments were also aimed at funding activities of the newly established National Committee to Manage Gaza, a group of Palestinian technocrats supported by the United States, aiming to take control of the sector from "Hamas".

One source, a person familiar with the Peace Council's operations, stated that among the ten countries that pledged funds, only three - the UAE, Morocco, and the United States itself - contributed to the funding.

The source added that the funding so far is less than one billion dollars but did not provide further details. He indicated that the war with Iran "affected everything", leading to increased difficulties facing the funding.

"There is currently no money available"

The source added that the National Committee to Manage Gaza could not enter the sector due to funding and security issues. Even after agreeing to a ceasefire last October, health officials in Gaza stated that Israeli attacks had led to the deaths of at least 700 people in the sector, while Israel claimed that attacks by Palestinian militants had killed four of its soldiers.

The second source, a Palestinian official familiar with the matter, stated that the Council informed "Hamas" and other Palestinian factions that the National Committee to Manage Gaza is currently unable to enter the sector due to lack of funding.

The official relayed the words of the Council's envoy Nikolai Miladinov to the Palestinian factions: "There is currently no money available".

"Hamas" has repeatedly confirmed its readiness to hand over the reins of government to the committee led by Ali Shath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, which currently exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank occupied by Israel.

The Shath Committee is set to take control of Gaza's ministries and manage its police forces.

A diplomatic source stated that Shath and his 14 committee members are staying at a hotel in Cairo under the supervision of U.S. and Egyptian officials.

Representatives of the Peace Council and the National Committee to Manage Gaza did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

International institutions estimate the cost of rebuilding Gaza at approximately $70 billion, after Israeli bombing destroyed nearly four-fifths of the buildings in the sector over two years.

This stalled plan for Gaza's future is an example of other ambitious initiatives adopted by Trump that remain stagnant; the U.S. President sought to portray himself as a peacemaker in the world, but failed to end the war in Ukraine as he promised, while the truce with Iran faced severe pressures this week from its very first moment.

Disarmament Talks

A source in the "Hamas" movement stated that Egypt, which is hosting disarmament talks, has invited the movement for further meetings tomorrow, Saturday.

The ceasefire stage of the agreement halted the comprehensive war but kept Israeli forces controlling a sparsely populated area that makes up more than half of Gaza's territory, with "Hamas" remaining in power in a small part of the coastal sector.

Trump's team leads the negotiations with "Hamas" and other Palestinian factions regarding disarmament. Israel claims that "Hamas" must surrender its weapons before Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza. However, "Hamas" states that it will not comply unless it receives guarantees for Israel’s withdrawal and a ceasefire.

The diplomatic source familiar with disarmament talks indicated that negotiations are still facing a crisis, expressing concern that Israel may be seeking to find a pretext for launching a new comprehensive attack on Gaza.

Israeli military officials state they are preparing to return quickly to a full-scale war if "Hamas" does not surrender its weapons.

The Gaza war erupted following attacks launched by "Hamas" on Israel on the seventh of October 2023, with Israeli statistics indicating that it led to the deaths of 1,200 people.

In the Gaza Strip, its health authorities state that the Israeli military campaign that lasted two years has claimed the lives of more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and led to the spread of famine and the displacement of the majority of the strip's population.