Report: The Financial Fund of the Peace Council in Gaza Has Not Received Any Funding

SadaNews - A report by the "Financial Times" revealed today, Wednesday, that the "Peace Council" fund, established at the initiative of U.S. President Donald Trump to rebuild the Gaza Strip, has not received any funding since its establishment four months ago, despite financial pledges totaling around $17 billion. The newspaper cited four knowledgeable sources stating that no dollar has been deposited into the fund so far.

The report clarified that some donations are being channeled through unofficial routes directly into an account belonging to the council at JPMorgan, bypassing the World Bank mechanism. However, the flow of funds through these channels remains extremely limited.

This way, the information available to the public regarding the scope of these funds and how they are used is diminished, as donations through the World Bank require reports to be submitted to donors and board members, while these requirements do not apply to the funds transferred directly via JPMorgan.

According to the report, only limited amounts have been transferred so far, including about $20 million from Morocco to fund the executive director of the Peace Council, Nikolai Mladenov, and the salaries of the Palestinian technocratic committee, while a $100 million contribution from the UAE designated for training a new police force remains frozen so far.

The newspaper emphasized that no American funds have actually been invested in reconstruction projects amid a backdrop of legal and political ambiguity surrounding the council and its lack of clear authority on the ground.

In February, Israel informed the United States that it would not contribute financially to the operations of the Peace Council, and countries joining the council were asked to contribute to its operational expenses, while both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates announced their intention to provide more than $1 billion each.