Attendees were shown a promotional video depicting a Mediterranean Riviera with 200 hotels. Rafah was bulldozed into a building site last year.
The inaugural Board of Peace meeting convened Thursday at the former U.S. Institute of Peace—seized and renamed last year—where President Trump announced a $10 billion American contribution to rebuilding Gaza, without specifying where the money would come from or whether Congress would be consulted.
Representatives from roughly two dozen countries attended, though many sent lower-level officials rather than heads of state. Belarus accepted its invitation but was denied visas by the United States. A Belarusian ministry statement asked what kind of ‘peace’ can’t manage basic paperwork.
The Master Plan
Attendees were presented with what Israeli billionaire and executive committee member Yakir Gabay called the “master plan” for Gaza, which envisions planned cities, high-tech industry, transportation infrastructure, and “a new Mediterranean Riviera with 200 hotels and potential islands.”
A promotional video projected that by year three, Rafah—which was almost entirely destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and has since been bulldozed into a building site—would be “fully rebuilt, unemployment curbed,” and connected to the world through an “Abrahamic gateway extending to India and Europe.” Within 10 years, the video predicted self-governance, thriving industries, and housing for all.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was invited to the peace event, announced plans to invest millions in 50 mini soccer fields, five full-sized pitches, and a national stadium seating 25,000. The territory currently lacks running water in most areas.
The Force
Officials described plans for a 5,000-strong local police force to be deployed within 60 days. The recruitment call was posted on social media Wednesday; by Thursday, 2,000 people had applied. That force would complement a 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force, for which five countries have volunteered troops.
There was little discussion of Hamas forces that still control half of Gaza. “The world is now waiting on Hamas,” Trump said. “And it’s the only thing that’s standing in the way.”
Prestige and Prizes
During his near hour-long opening remarks, the president commented on the wealth and physical appearance of attendees, endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—who is facing an uphill election campaign amid criticism over suppressing independent media—and panned speeches at the Munich Security Conference by California Governor Gavin Newsom and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
When informed that Norway had agreed to host a future Board of Peace event, Trump said he initially thought Norway was awarding him the Nobel Prize. “Oh, this is less exciting,” he said, before adding: “I don’t care about the Nobel Prize. I care about saving lives.”
He then praised FIFA for giving him a peace prize after what he described as being “screwed by Norway.”
Saudi Arabia and the UAE pledged a combined $6.5 billion toward reconstruction, though total costs are estimated at many times that amount. A top EU observer, who attended without joining, noted it would be helpful if “the rules of procedure were more transparent and more clear.”
Developing.
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