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JPMorgan Chase is negotiating to offer financial facilities to the Board of Peace, the US-spearheaded organization responsible for Gaza’s reconstruction, which Donald Trump endeavors to establish as an alternative to the UN, as reported by individuals knowledgeable about these discussions.
This Board of Peace was initially envisioned as an element of the US president’s drive to forge a fresh administrative structure for Gaza, following the ruinous, protracted conflict between Israel and Hamas within the Palestinian territory.However, the US president has progressively endeavored to portray it as a substitute for the UN, declaring on Truth Social this month that the board’s inaugural members had articulated a perspective for non-combatants in the Palestinian territory, “and subsequently, reaching well past Gaza — GLOBAL TRANQUILITY”.
JPMorgan refused to discuss its engagements concerning the nascent body, which received endorsement via a UN Security Council resolution late last year, subsequent to a US-mediated truce in Gaza.
Nonetheless, two individuals acquainted with the circumstances stated that the bank was deliberating on furnishing services, including streamlining transactions for the board.
The relationship between the Trump administration and JPMorgan, the preeminent US bank boasting over $4tn in assets, is compounded by a legal action initiated last month by the US president targeting the firm and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon. Trump alleges the financial institution terminated his bank accounts due to partisan motives.
However, Dimon has concurrently adopted strategies consistent with Trump’s America First platform, encompassing an objective to support and fund $1.5tn across sectors considered vital to US sovereign defense and foundational systems.
A government representative refused to elaborate on any talks involving JPMorgan, stating there was “no statement to make at this time”, but further noted that the administration is “examining all avenues that can help us deliver aid to Gaza as optimally and capably as possible”.
To date, approximately twenty-four nations have consented to participate in the Board of Peace, which Trump will preside over, and which will be funded through donations by participating nations — with countries committing a minimum of $1bn in the initial twelve months being awarded perpetual, rather than the customary triennial, membership.
Below the primary tier of the board, which will comprise participating nations, Trump has formed a governing council. This council features principal advisors such as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, alongside ex-British premier Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, a previous Bulgarian defense secretary and UN emissary who has also been designated chief delegate for Gaza.
According to the Board of Peace’s statutes, the executive board is charged with “the establishment of checks and supervisory procedures concerning fiscal plans, monetary records, and outlays, as essential or suitable to guarantee their soundness”.
A fourteen-person entity of Palestinian specialists tasked with the daily administration of the region, named the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, has been formed to operate beneath the executive board.
The Board of Peace was introduced in Davos the previous month and is scheduled to reconvene in Washington on Thursday.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House media liaison, stated that Trump would declare at the assembly that “participating nations have committed over $5bn for Gaza’s humanitarian aid and rebuilding endeavors”.
Inquired regarding financing for Gaza at the Munich Security Conference the previous week, Mladenov mentioned that “several mechanisms” were available, and that a “World Bank trust fund is underway to oversee aid for Gaza” which would primarily concentrate on philanthropic relief, crisis recuperation, and security.
Addressing attendees at Davos the previous month, Kushner unveiled an aspiring blueprint for a reconstructed “New Gaza,” complete with visualized depictions of avant-garde high-rises and other contemporary foundational systems, which he stated would necessitate approximately $30bn in capital outlays.