Only the UAE, Morocco and the United States have done so out of nine countries that have pledged to provide funds for the “Peace Council” created by US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on Friday, April 10, citing sources. The total amount raised amounted to less than $1 billion, dw.com wrote.
At a meeting of the “Peace Council” in Washington in February, Trump announced that the member countries of the organization – Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait – had pledged to allocate $7 billion for the Gaza Strip. The US was to add another $10 billion to this sum, the UN – $2 billion. The money was to be used, among other things, to finance the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), supervised by the “Peace Council”, to which it was planned to transfer control over the region after the disarmament of Hamas.
According to Reuters, “Peace Council” spokesman Nickolay Mladenov told Palestinian organizations that “there is no money at the moment.” The “Council” rejected reports of a lack of funds. “The Peace Council is a compact implementation and execution-oriented organization that raises capital as needed. There are no financial constraints. To date, all funding requests have been met immediately and in full,” the organization said in a statement.
Gaza governance postponed
Egyptian-brokered talks to disarm Hamas continue but have so far been inconclusive. Israel insists that Hamas must lay down its arms before the withdrawal, while Hamas demands ceasefire guarantees and a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army.
According to a Reuters source in diplomatic circles, the talks have reached an impasse and there is a fear that Israel could use the situation as an excuse to resume a large-scale military operation.
