Trump's peace board faces a cash crunch

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has received only a tiny fraction of the $17 billion pledged for Gaza, preventing the US president from pushing ahead with his plan for the shattered Palestinian enclave’s future, sources told Reuters. Ten days before US-Israeli attacks on Iran plunged the region into war, Trump hosted a conference in Washington that saw Gulf Arab states pledge billions for the governance and reconstruction of Gaza. One of the sources, a person with direct knowledge of the peace board’s operations, said that out of ten countries who pledged funds, only three – the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and the US itself – had contributed funding. The source said funding so far was under $1 billion, but did not give more details. The Iran war “has affected everything,” exacerbating previous funding difficulties, the source said. The plan envisages large-scale rebuilding of the coastal enclave after the disarmament of Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Board of Peace denied in a statement posted on social media on Friday that it had funding problems.(This is a Reuters story)