According to a report by the British newspaper The Guardian on August 6th, the 'Peace Commission' established by Donald Trump in January this year has finally signed its first construction contract in this war-torn region: a military base.
A person familiar with the matter revealed that the specific details of the project are to build a simple military outpost capable of accommodating 150 people. Once completed, the facility will be used by the “International Stabilization Forces” from Morocco.
As of now, the contract has not been finalized. The contracting party is Arkel International LLC, a company that has previously undertaken projects for the U.S. government in Iraq and other countries.
The ‘Peace Commission’ is chaired by Trump himself, with a team led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and friend Steve Wootton.
A member of the ‘Peace Committee’ stated in an email that the committee is working with a Palestinian technical bureaucracy to prepare the awarding of several contracts. The process is now in its final stage, but all decisions have not yet been finalized. This Palestinian agency is called the ‘Gaza National Management Committee’, which is responsible for overseeing affairs in Gaza.
The official stated, “One of the potential contracts involves the construction of support facilities for the International Stabilization Force. This force will be responsible for assisting in implementing the planned security and governance arrangements.”
He claimed, “This contract will be one of the most important contracts for the future of Gaza.”
This contract was granted just a few days after Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to disarm. It is worth noting that Israel opposed the agreement proposed by Trump and intensified its air strikes on Gaza after Trump’s announcement.
In January this year, when the committee was just established, Kushner outlined a plan for the “next 100 days.” The plan included significantly increasing the volume of aid supplies, repairing key infrastructure such as water, electricity, and sewage systems, as well as rebuilding hospitals and bakeries.
However, The Guardian previously reported in July that the initial reconstruction plan for Gaza by the Peace Committee had been significantly scaled back. The ambitious plan to rebuild the entire Gaza Strip was reduced to a small pilot project in southern Gaza.
According to people familiar with the matter, the planned base is located within Israeli-controlled territory, covering an area of only 100 meters by 120 meters. It is intended to house a detachment of Moroccan troops, which will be rotated from a base within Israel.
According to the source, the base is located about 1 mile from the Israeli border, and has a “quick retreat route” in case the small group of troops is attacked.
According to the contract seen by The Guardian, building this small base is only the first stage of the project. The ultimate goal is to construct a military base in Gaza that can accommodate 5,000 people. The base will include ‘vehicle combat positions’ and a berm (an elevated defensive wall), along with facilities suitable for short-term deployment.
Currently, 60% of Gaza is still under direct control of the Israeli army, and the Israelis have established buffer zones outside these controlled areas.
However, Israel has no intention of improving the situation in Gaza. According to statistics, at least 80% of buildings in Gaza were damaged or destroyed during the war. Since the ceasefire began, most of the 2 million people living in the area still live in temporary and unhygienic camps.
