The financial mechanism established for President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has yet to receive donor funds, leaving the organization in legal and political uncertainty and delaying reconstruction efforts in Gaza, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The Board of Peace, launched by Trump in January, sought $1 billion “lifetime membership" contributions from world leaders. Member states also pledged $7 billion toward a Gaza relief initiative, while Trump committed an additional $10 billion in US funding.
However, four months after the organization’s creation, the World Bank-administered fund established for the board has not received any deposits from donors, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Instead, donations have reportedly been directed to a JPMorgan account controlled by the board. A spokesperson for the Board of Peace told the newspaper that several channels for contributions had been established, including the World Bank mechanism, and that donors had chosen alternative methods.
The spokesperson added that the board would provide financial reports to its executive board “at a time deemed appropriate."
According to the report, Morocco contributed approximately $20 million that has been used to support the office of Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s “high representative" for postwar Gaza, as well as salaries for the Palestinian technocratic committee formed to administer the territory.
The United Arab Emirates also reportedly provided $100 million for the training of a new Gaza police force, though the initiative has not yet begun, and the funds remain frozen.
The US State Department is also seeking to redirect roughly $1.2 billion in aid spending toward projects connected to the board’s agenda, although those funds have not yet been used. A separate proposal to transfer about $50 million directly to the board for operational costs also remains pending.
Congressional officials cited in the report said lawmakers continue to seek clarification regarding the board’s legal standing and financial oversight. Questions have also been raised over whether the organization qualifies under US law as an international body eligible to receive American funding.
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the board to him as operating under a legal framework similar to that of a UN agency focused on Gaza reconstruction and humanitarian activity. Schatz, however, said Trump has described the board in different terms, adding that the organization’s status remained unclear.
The Board of Peace has begun issuing tenders related to security and rebuilding projects in Gaza, but no contracts have yet been awarded, according to the report. A spokesperson for the organization said operations inside Gaza had not begun because Hamas had not disarmed.
The report also said that none of the central goals outlined in Trump’s postwar Gaza initiative, including Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and reconstruction, had advanced.
Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American businessman involved in contacts with Hamas on behalf of the Trump administration, told the newspaper that the Palestinian committee established by the board had not started work inside Gaza because of a lack of funding.
“They know that if they go to Gaza, people are going to flood to them to ask for assistance, and they have no tools, no means," Bahbah said, according to the report.