Trump’s Board of Peace to unveil $3.13 billion Gaza recovery plan, Axios reports

The plan estimates physical damage in Gaza at US$35.2 billion.

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace will unveil a six-month, US$2.45 billion (S$3.13 billion) recovery plan for Gaza at a meeting of its members on Sept 23, Axios reported.

The 66-project proposal includes estimated spending for temporary housing, rubble removal, hospital repairs, economic recovery and the deployment of a multinational security force, the report added, citing a copy of the plan.

The White House and US Department of State did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The plan estimates physical damage in Gaza at US$35.2 billion and says full recovery and reconstruction will require about US$71.4 billion over the next decade, the Axios report added.

It also calls for repairing border crossings, restoring electricity and water infrastructure, deploying 25,000 portable solar power kits and permanently filling tunnels beneath sites needed for priority reconstruction projects.

Trump’s administration told Congress in late July it is sending more than US$206 million for a proposed Gaza peacekeeping force, the first significant funding for the stalled US plan to rebuild the devastated enclave.

Trump set up a Board of Peace to oversee his ambitious plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza.

But since the announcement of an agreement in late July, the effort has stalled, with both Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas refusing to fulfil conditions that would allow the deal to move ahead.

The report said the Board of Peace and the Palestinian government have not secured the entire US$2.45 billion but are confident that, once political hurdles are cleared, donor countries will step up. REUTERS