US President Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan is running into problems because potential donors are hanging back because they are afraid that Israel will resume the war on Hamas, or just generally. There are also concerns that funds for reconstruction would be under the Board of Peace, of which Mr Trump has made himself lifetime President. Though Mr Trump had the Board approved (before he constituted it) by the United Nations Security Council, there are apparently some countries, potential donors, which would prefer the funds for reconstruction to be controlled by the UN. However, the real problem is with Israel. There seems no point in pouring funda into a war zone, and to have all the infrastructure built up to that point destroyed.
There seems to be a number of factors involved. First, the need for reconstruction has only arisen because Israel relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip for over a year. Second, there seems no sign of Israel stopping. The mantra is that Hamas disarms. Some of the potential peacekeepers, such as Pakistan, have said they do not intend to be part of any disarmament activities. Israel has shown that it is unwilling to keep the peace, and has continued its attacks, killing at least 616 people since the ceasefire. The bombardment, both from air and by artillery has been accompanied by just the sort of damage that was caused in the first place, and which needs about $100 billion. There seems no point in building something, only to have Israel reduce it to rubble once again. Finally, there seems no way of getting Israel to honour any pledges it might make to preserve the peace. Israel also has a very poor track record in this regard.
Perhaps the only way to stop Israel might be for the West to make its support less absolute, more conditional on good behaviour. For example, the West might refuse to replace shells, missiles and bombs used in Gaza, something which is being carried out smoothly at the moment. If supporters were to pledge to cover any losses Israel caused, Israel would probably take that as a carte blanche. Israel has been cavalier with US assistance, for instance, and the West Bank settlements have only been possible because the Israeli state has received vast sums from the USA, $174 billion (this is entirely separate from the donations from the USA for the settlements, which were $220 million over a five-year period). Nothing suggests it will change.
