Beyond the Board of Peace’s $5 Billion Pledge, What Will It Take to Rebuild Gaza?

And as I had just mentioned, later this morning, we're going to bring you that live coverage of President Trump's first convening of the Board of Peace in Washington, where he's going to welcome 40 members to its initial meeting and pledge $5 billion to war-torn Gaza's reconstruction. Joining us now live for a preview is Jacob Olidor. He's the director of the Center for the American Security and at the America First Policy Institute. He's also a historian of the Middle East. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. The body has pledged, of course, $5 billion, but their important work of Gaza reconstruction cannot begin until there's stability there in Gaza. So what are your expectations in terms of that important work of reconstruction getting going? It's great to be with you this morning. Thank you for having me. Look, this is a major accomplishment, obviously, looking back four months ago, the president's brokering of a ceasefire there in Gaza. As you mentioned, there is hard work still ahead, but this is a major milestone and part of it, I think, speaks to the global aspect of what we see happening in the Middle East, not just in Gaza, but obviously we're looking at Iran as well. And these are countries, you know, it's not to minimize. These are all countries around the world pledging donations to help with the reconstruction efforts. There will also be talk this morning about who can commit troops towards a stabilization force in the region, all of that towards the governance piece of the future of Gaza. Separate to that, but obviously part of reconstruction will be the disarmament of Hamas. There are negotiations ongoing for that to take place. But all of that, obviously, signs of progress on a major and complex challenge that we see in the region. Yeah, we had a guest on, David Wormser from Israel this morning, and he's saying that Hamas is not disarmed at all. In fact, you know, it is not stable on the ground. What has to happen so that the reconstruction can actually get going? Obviously, not to discount the amazing work that's already happened, but they cannot begin breaking ground until there is full disarmament of Hamas. How does that happen? Well, all these issues at the end of the day are interconnected. And as we saw, actually, with the brokering of peace four months ago, that happened right on the heels of the historic military accomplishment of Operation Midnight Hammer following the 12-day war with Iran. And so I anticipate that as the board meets, and it's not, I don't think, incidental that it's happening, as things are building up in the Gulf there with Iran, that as we see further engagement on Iran, that might precipitate even further progress, especially owing to the fact that this is Hamas's main backer in the region. Yeah, indeed. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, all of those relying on the support of Iran, all those warships moving in. You're right. These things do seem to be happening in parallel. Now, Kushner said that the project could be started and completed in three years to get this brand new, you know, urban sort of utopia right there in Gaza. Does that seem to you feasible, three years? Well, I think just even in the first year of this administration coming back into the White House, we've seen historic progress around the world, stabilizing various areas, and then reducing the possibility of conflict. I mean, I go back to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal brokered, and many others around the world. Obviously, what we're seeing in the Western Hemisphere, and now in the Middle East, so much has been going on. So I think these time horizons look very different when you measure it in the context of progress on the ground the administration is brokering. So without knowing exact details, I think there's a lot to look forward to even this year. Yeah, and to that point, Jacob, what might a rebuilt Gaza look like in terms of civilian opportunity and participation? Well, first and foremost, it has to not present a threat to its neighbor to Israel and to the Gazan people. And I think that is certainly on the latter. But even in the former, there's a shared consensus between the United States and its regional partners. I think nobody in the region wants to see Iran further emboldened or its proxies, which, by the way, pose threats to all of our partners in the region. So I think that'll be the number one priority there. And I think, again, progress is moving in that direction. And it's not just in Gaza. I think we'll probably see it as well in Lebanon, with the further marginalization of Hezbollah there. We'll see it in other parts of the region. And so I think all of this, again, happening at the same time, but I think will yield a much more positive and enduring peace in the future. And I do, Jacob, want to take a step back and talk about sort of the Board of Peace's significance. What I find interesting is that Israel, Jordan, Egypt, all on the Board of Peace, Mahmoud Abbas not on the Board of Peace. And then you have all of really the Arab and Muslim nations participating in the Board of Peace, yet very few Western allies have accepted the invitation to join the Board of Peace, nor has Russia or China. So what do you make up of this, you know, who is participating and who has decided to sit out? Well, I think that's a very important observation. I think fundamentally it speaks to this Board of Peace as well being a referendum on how geopolitics has worked in the past and failed in the past. And this is really a corrective. You know, you mentioned the sidelining of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas. That has been, frankly, an obstacle towards making peace possible. It's a corrupt government. It funds terror activity. And, you know, the fact that that has not been addressed directly has been an issue and that peace has only gone through that entity. And so I think what we're seeing here is a new way to frame the conversation around peace. It's all the partners that have stakes and equity in the outcome of what happens in the Middle East. And so we want that buy-in. We want that participation. And I think that's a tremendous achievement the president has made in accomplishing that. Now, the Board of Peace is very much focused initially on the ability to break this cycle in the Middle East. And as you pointed out earlier, it's amazing that decades of conflict has begun to subside. If Gaza is rebuilt, what other objectives might the Board of Peace look to take on? Well, it's a good question. And I think Gaza is very much a litmus test. It's one of the most intractable issues in the Middle East, in part because it represents really the very depravity and the worst parts of what the Iranian regime and other adversaries represent. And so I think if we get this right, then there is, I think, hope for the Palestinian people for a broader framework for peace in the region. And then really taking on various other challenges, perhaps, around the world. I think, you know, this is, again, I go back to the fact that all of these conflicts, all of these peace agreements are global in their effect. And I think that so much of what we've seen over the last three years in Gaza has obviously dictated certain narratives around the world about the possibilities of peace. And so I think resetting that narrative, which I think has been part of the president's accomplishment four months ago, I think that will build momentum towards other milestones in other parts of the world as well. Now, can you talk a little bit about the significance, Jacob, of what's happening right now in Gaza? I think back to Clinton coming so close at Camp David, but just unable to push peace over the line. And you discussed sort of your view on corruption within the Fatah Palestinian Authority, which now Arafat passing the baton to Mahmoud Abbas. What does getting to this point even mean after coming, you know, working on this for so long? Well, fundamentally, I go back to prior administrations have chosen to frame the conflict in a certain manner as an isolated Israeli-Palestinian issue. The fact is it is not. It is, first of all, about who is at the top of governance. And so part of the problem of the PA is that this is the 18th year of Abbas's four-year term. There is no plan for succession. There is no plan for governance, not to mention the fact that there are these pay-to-slay funds being given to families of terrorists. And we should also remember that Hamas's popularity in the West Bank is higher than it is in Gaza among residents, mainly because that's seen as the only viable alternative. But none of that is a formula for peace there. But stepping back a little bit, I think prior administrations, you mentioned Clinton as well, framed this as a narrow Israeli-Palestinian conflict, when in fact, this is a regional and even global one in terms of its ramifications. And I think you saw that with the signatories of the president's 20-point peace plan announced in October, countries from around the world signing their support. I think that speaks to both the relevance of the conflict in prior decades, but also the effects of resolving it today. Yeah, it sounds so simple when you frame it like that because you kind of described the definition of insanity, but yet it's been so hard to solve. And now this novel approach and the establishment of the Board of Peace, it looks like real progress right at the precipice here. Chief Research Officer with the America First Policy Institute, Jacob Alador, thank you for sharing your insights with us this morning. Thank you for having me.