Palestine: Gaza's Ceasefire, Reconstruction and Governance

Summary

A year into Gaza's ceasefire, the Board of Peace has not secured full Israeli withdrawal, Hamas disarmament or reconstruction funding, as occupation, displacement and aid restrictions continue, sources report.

What it argues

1. Board of Peace's First Year

   Israel occupies about 60% of Gaza, more than the 50% agreed under Trump's plan, per Al Jazeera. The Yellow Line marking Israeli-held territory has been pushed deeper, displacing more Palestinians. Analysts Simon Mabon and Mohamad Elmasry say the board has "failed" to enforce its own ceasefire plan. A year on, the Board of Peace has not secured the withdrawal or ceasefire it promised.

2. Disarmament Standoff

   Hamas agreed in late July to a Board of Peace roadmap to decommission weapons through the NCAG. Netanyahu rejected the roadmap and demands full Hamas disarmament before any Israeli redeployment, per ECFR. ECFR says the board has shifted the sequencing to tie withdrawal to completed decommissioning, favouring Israel's position. Both sides blame each other for blocking the plan's disarmament-for-withdrawal exchange.

3. Scrutiny After Iran War

   A Carnegie panel questioned the board's viability amid fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran. Panelists flagged unresolved questions over Palestinian governance and the board's standing. Analysts see the board's promise of regional stability as increasingly in doubt.

4. Legal Basis Disputed

   The EU and UN say UNSCR 2803 provides the legal basis for reconstruction and transfer of governance to the Palestinian Authority, conditioned on a sustained ceasefire and property-rights protection. A former US State Department treaty lawyer and Carnegie panelists separately questioned the board's own international legal grounding. Palestinian experts cited by Al Jazeera call the Mladenov disarmament plan, in effect, Hamas's "political surrender." A legal framework for reconstruction exists, but the board's own legal standing and the disarmament plan's framing remain disputed.

5. Reconstruction's $71bn Gap

   The EU-UN-World Bank assessment puts Gaza's recovery needs at $71.4 billion over a decade, $26.3 billion of it urgent. Board member states have pledged only $7 billion, plus a further $2.4 billion for a 66-project plan. Pledged funding covers a small fraction of assessed reconstruction costs.

6. Economy and Aid Restricted

   Gaza's economy has contracted 84% over the conflict, per the RDNA assessment. Only about 227 of a promised 600 daily aid trucks enter Gaza, and Israel restricts "dual-use" reconstruction materials. Restricted trade and aid flows continue to choke Gaza's economy and rebuilding.

7. Displacement and Human Toll

   Over 371,000 housing units are destroyed or damaged and 1.9 million people have been displaced, often repeatedly, per the RDNA. The assessment estimates Gaza's human development has been set back 77 years. The scale of social devastation documented by the UN and EU is described as catastrophic.

8. UNRWA Sidelined

   The Board of Peace says it will not work with UNRWA, telling AP the agency's "days are over." The UN General Assembly voted in June to extend UNRWA's mandate to 2029; UNRWA calls the board's move "not logical." The board and the UN remain at odds over who should deliver aid and services in Gaza.