In Gaza, Trump's Peace Board met with deep skepticism and little hope | Israel-Palestine conflict

Deir el Balah – When US President Donald Trump convened the first meeting of his Peace Board (BoP) in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not debating diplomatic language or political frameworks.

On the streets and in the tents of central and southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are struggling to survive, a simple question dominated: Will anything change in the harsh reality on the ground?

“I have heard about money being raised for Gaza, but we see nothing. This has happened many times, but nothing changes,” said Amal Joudeh, 43, who lives in a tent in Deir el-Balah.

“I am one of the people whose house has disappeared. I still don't have a house. My husband is injured and my children are injured. We want any support or reconstruction… any solution,” said the mother of eight, who had been displaced from the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya.

Addressing the meeting in Washington, D.C., Trump announced that nine member countries have pledged $7 billion toward a reconstruction fund for the Gaza Strip, and five countries have agreed to deploy troops in an International Stabilization Force for the Palestinian territory.

He said the United States will also make a $10 billion contribution to the balance of payments, although he did not specify what the money would be used for.

However, the pledges remain far short of United Nations estimates of up to $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory, destroyed by continuous Israeli bombing during more than two years of a genocidal war.

Very little has changed since the “ceasefire” agreement negotiated by Trump went into effect in October of last year.

The majority of Palestinians still struggle to feed their families, while healthcare, educational and health services are almost non-existent.

Gaza's Health Ministry has said more than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the truce, which Palestinians hoped would end more than two years of genocidal war that has killed more than 72,000 people, according to official statistics.

“Israel kills, bombs, violates the ceasefire agreement on a daily basis and expands the buffer zone without anyone stopping it,” said Awad al-Ghoul, a 70-year-old Palestinian displaced from Tal as-Sultan in Rafah and now living in a tent in the town of az-Zawayda.

“If a peace board of this size cannot force Israel to stop its attacks on a small place like Gaza, how will it resolve conflicts around the world?” says al-Ghoul, referring to Trump's stated intention that the junta would not be limited to Gaza but would expand to intervene in resolving other international disputes.

Allocated funds: Genuine support or rhetoric?

Many people in Gaza who had pinned their hopes on international donor conferences in the past without tangible results were skeptical of the numbers.

Al-Ghoul said he does not believe these sums will go entirely to Gaza.

“A small part will go to Gaza, and the rest will be administrative expenses and luxurious salaries for high officials and presidents. A small part will come to Gaza so that they can say that they supported Gaza and justify the continuation of their luxury club called the Peace Junta.” p>

“So this project is a failure from the beginning and has an unclear vision, like the failure of the aid distribution foundation established by the United States a year ago, which became death traps for thousands.”

Jamal Abu Makhdeh agrees.

“They won't do anything for Gaza. It's all a lie,” says the 66-year-old. “Whatever Israel accepts will certainly not be in our interest,” he tells Al Jazeera in Deir el-Balah.

“Trump, together with Israel, wants to use the Peace Board to impose his decisions on the world by force. It is about power, control and domination, without regard for weaker nations like us,” he added.

Over the past two years, reconstruction plans have been discussed after each ceasefire agreement in Gaza. However, Israeli restrictions on the entry of construction materials have hindered the full fulfillment of those promises.

“Even if the junta decides to rebuild Gaza, this is unlikely and will not happen. We have heard this many times and nothing happened,” he adds.

“How can we trust a peace board that Israel is a member of? It is the one that killed us, destroyed us and committed genocide.”

While Abu Makhdeh insists he is not optimistic about the junta's decisions, he also expresses concern about Trump and Israel's insistence on disarming Hamas. Under the truce agreement, Hamas must hand over its weapons.

“Their main objective is to disarm Hamas so that we drown in internal and civil disputes,” he adds.

He said he considers talk of peace misleading, pointing to current violations in the occupied West Bank, including the destruction of Palestinian homes and property, the expansion of settlements and restrictions on normal life, along with the deepening tragedy in Gaza.

“There is no optimism in American decisions. This is just media talk.”

Al-Ghoul expressed cautious optimism about the idea of ​​sending an international peacekeeping force to Gaza.

“Personally, I hope this force is sent, but it must act as a deterrent to Israel's continued attacks, such as UNIFIL in Lebanon. I can't imagine Israel would attack a force imposed by a Trump-led Peace Junta,” he says.

Reconstruction: The greatest absence in the discourse

Despite talk of “stability” and “peace,” the junta’s announcement did not include any concrete decisions on rebuilding Gaza or its infrastructure destroyed during two years of war.

For al-Ghoul, reconstruction is not the priority if Israel continues to violate the truce.

“Reconstruction is worthless if Israel's hand continues to destroy and kill. What is the point of rebuilding while Israel destroys?”

Jouda, however, said she hopes to see an improvement in life for herself and her children, “like it used to be,” including the reopening of schools, the return of children to classrooms after a long hiatus and the move from the store to a solid home.

Far from international forums, the demands of the people in Gaza are summarized in short phrases: security, peace and return to their homes.

“My demand is to return to my neighborhood of Rafah, which has been occupied for a year and a half… even if it is in a tent,” says al-Ghoul.

“What matters is that the army withdraws and we return to our places.”

Abu Makhdeh sums up his demands in the desire that these reunited nations achieve justice for Gaza, even just once.

“We are exhausted. They must show mercy. We demand what is good for our people, to live in peace and to be granted a simple life with our basic right to security.”