The first meeting of Donald Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace” was held on 19 February. It was a sickening gathering of war criminals and plunderers, meeting to discuss their nightmarish plans for a post-war Gaza.
The meeting heard contributions from some of the hideous figures that Donald Trump has appointed to its executive. Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister and butcher of Iraq, praised Trump’s plans and highlighted what he saw as the “vast potential” of Gaza—“25 miles of Mediterranean coastline” and “proximity to great regional and global markets”.
The Board includes several Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as other countries seeking US favours like Indonesia and Argentina. Suggesting something of its true nature, Israel has also joined it.
All its decisions, however, must be approved by Trump. The major European countries, as well as other invited countries including Australia, have refused to join.
Trump himself spoke much of “peace”, praising himself for “bringing peace to the Middle East” and declaring that “the war in Gaza is over”. This is a far cry from the situation facing Palestinians there. And within weeks he was bombing Iran.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue, as do military operations on the ground, despite the announcement of the “ceasefire” in October. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 650 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli military operations since.
Displaced Palestinians, living in tents and makeshift shelters, have also faced extreme weather in recent months. Over winter, dozens of Palestinians were killed or injured after heavy flooding caused damaged buildings to collapse. Others died of extreme cold.
More recently, the worst sandstorm in five years swept through Gaza, damaging tents and risking further illness.
The health system in Gaza is still in crisis after over two years of Israeli bombardment that included the targeting of hospitals and medical facilities. Earlier this year it was reported that 20,000 Palestinians are on waitlists for necessary medical treatments unavailable in Gaza.
The World Health Organisation warned in early March that essential medical supplies remain critically low—with needles and gauze having completely run out.
Since the US and Israel launched their murderous assault on Iran, all but one of the border crossings into Gaza have been cut off.
This means that, at most, only one third of the aid trucks needed are being let in each day. In December, Israel ordered 37 aid organisations to cease work in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank entirely by March.
Macabre plans
Trump’s Board of Peace is a sick farce that has no intention of doing anything for the Palestinians in Gaza. The first meeting made promises of funding, with combined pledges of $10 billion, but there was no suggestion of providing any of the basic services that people in Gaza so desperately need.
Bizarrely, the President of FIFA (who previously awarded Trump the “FIFA Peace Prize”) made an appearance at the meeting to promise funding for five soccer pitches, a training academy and a stadium.
Instead, the Board of Peace discussed market solutions that could help open Gaza up to business.
This is of a piece with the plan for “New Gaza” presented by Board of Peace executive member Jared Kushner in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This would see Palestinians pushed into even smaller living areas to clear up space for coastal tourism properties and industrial zones.
The lofty promises made at the Board of Peace meeting are just the cover for plans to occupy Gaza and open it up for profiteering. Part of the plan is the establishment of an International Stabilisation Force which would see 20,000 “peace keeping” troops deployed to Gaza.
Indonesia will act as deputy commander of the force and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who oversees the genocide carried out by Indonesian troops in West Papua, has promised 8000 soldiers to help “make this peace work”.
All these plans rely on disarming Hamas, something it continues to refuse to do—as is its right. Yet there is no talk of demanding Israel, which occupies Gaza and is carrying out genocide, disarm.
Last month, Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that if Hamas did not disarm, then Israel would “receive international legitimacy and American backing to do it itself”.
Trump’s “peace plan” for Gaza is a plan for further entrenching Israeli control and will require armed force to impose it. The task for us remains the same—continuing the fight for real peace and justice for Palestinians and forcing our government and institutions to cut ties with Israel.
By Angus Dermody
