Last Thursday, the much-heralded inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, a policy initiative driven by U.S. imperialism, took place in Washington, DC. Representatives from the board’s member countries attended the summit, while European imperialist states participated only as “observers,” wary of the subordinate role the United Nations plays within Donald Trump’s regional strategy.

Only nine member states, alongside the United States, promised large investments and reconstruction plans, even as Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza and the humanitarian crisis deepens. Despite these imperialist threats, the forces involved have failed to disarm Hamas.

An Imperialist Spectacle

The meeting bore a closer resemblance to an American campaign rally than a formal diplomatic gathering. Participants were handed red caps — the signature color of Trump’s Republican Party — emblazoned with “USA,” while the song “Gloria” played over the loudspeakers.

This spectacle was followed by a lengthy speech from Donald Trump, in which he boasted of promoting the meeting alongside “great leaders,” particularly those from the Middle East. These nations remain closely aligned with the United States and are viewed as complicit in the genocide and destruction of the Gaza Strip at the hands of the Zionist state of Israel.

At another point in his speech, Trump declared that ” The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.” This statement immediately set off alarms among the European delegations present as observers, as Trump signaled a clear intention to sideline or subordinate that imperialist institution in his quest to dominate global spheres of influence.

To showcase the supposed reconstruction of Gaza — a project that would inevitably involve colonization by ultra-wealthy corporations and the exploitation of Palestinians as semi-slave labor — FIFA president Gianni Infantino was invited as a featured guest. Infantino, a close ally of the imperialist powers, is currently seeing his own coffers swell as the United States prepares to host the upcoming World Cup. During the event, an AI-generated video was presented to the audience, depicting a futuristic “a complete football ecosystem” within the Gaza Strip.

Trump further announced that nine members of this Board of Peace had pledged a total of $7 billion toward the project: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait. Trump himself promised an additional $10 billion. However, no specific timeline was established for these contributions, nor was the precise allocation of these funds clarified.

The Reconstruction Plan

A promotional video was shown to illustrate the details of a twenty-point plan for major real estate and infrastructure projects. Essentially, the proposal focuses on reconstructing the city of Rafah within three years, claiming it will drastically reduce unemployment and connect the Strip to the global economy through a regional corridor dubbed the “Abrahamic Gateway,” an allusion to the three monotheistic religions.

According to the presentation, Gaza would become self-governing and economically integrated within ten years, boasting “thriving industries and housing for all.” The plan also promises a new educational curriculum designed to promote “tolerance, dignity, and peace.” However, the realization of this corporate vision depends entirely on the total disarmament of Gaza under the mandate of “one authority, one law, one army.”

To implement this vision, Major General Jasper Jeffers of the U.S. Special Operations Command introduced the “International Stabilization Force” (ISF). This force would reportedly launch operations in Rafah before overseeing five distinct sectors across the Gaza Strip, each patrolled by its own brigade. The presentation detailed a force of 20,000 ISF troops supported by 12,000 Palestinian police. These local officers would be supplied either by the Palestinian Authority — further deepening its betrayal of its own people — or by Palestinian mercenary guerrillas that Israel reportedly helped cultivate during its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

The troop contributions reflect a broad coalition of secondary powers operating under the American umbrella. Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania have all signaled they will contribute personnel, with the Indonesian army notably serving in an auxiliary role under U.S. command. Meanwhile, Egypt and Jordan have been tasked with training the new police force.

Argentinian President Javier Milei, eager to align himself with these interests, has also offered troops — branded as “Peace Troops” — for the region. This move was denounced by Congresswoman Myriam Bregman of the PTS (part of the CRP-CI current within the FIT) during a parliamentary session in which Milei’s libertarian government pushed through an ultra-reactionary labor reform. Notably, this reform shares striking similarities with the labor restructuring imposed by Netanyahu in 2003.

Imperialist Ambitions vs. Palestinian Realities

These discussions occurred in the presence of the cynically named Board of Peace, including the genocidal state of Israel, which continues to utilize thermal and thermobaric weapons against Palestinians. Throughout this process, the Palestinians themselves have been granted neither a voice nor a vote; the proceedings could hardly be more imperialist in nature.

A major limitation to this reconstruction plan is that Hamas does not accept unilateral disarmament, a condition Israel demands for halting its attacks. It is also worth noting the failure of previous agreements, such as the “ceasefire” in October which Israel never honored. During that period, it was agreed that Israeli forces would withdraw behind a designated “yellow line.” Since then, that line has been pushed back several kilometers, compounding the bombings and the humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gazans, most of whom are now in refugee camps in the southern part of the Strip.

Nickolay Mladenov, the pro-Israeli Bulgarian diplomat now serving as the board’s High Representative for Gaza, reiterated that reconstruction will only proceed once the Strip is completely demilitarized. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to insist on a total cessation of aggression and the lifting of the blockade.

The true nature of the project was perhaps most clearly articulated by board member Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management. The head of the leading alternative asset firm suggested that the Gaza coastline alone could be worth a “conservative” $50 billion. It is a vision of business for capitalist vultures, a colonization plan where the only losers are the Palestinian people.

Another ambitious — and vague — goal Trump set for the board is to resolve armed conflicts and oversee postwar transitions. This will be difficult to achieve, given not only the crisis in his own country but also the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down tariffs, the ongoing threat against Iran, rising warmongering among imperialist powers, tensions between the European Union and the United States, and the strategic competition between the United States and China.

In response to Trump’s imperial ambitions for Gaza, we must continue building the independent, broad movement in solidarity with Palestine and against genocide. The fight must expand to ever-wider sectors of the working class, both in the region and in imperialist countries, to intervene decisively — as in Italy — to block these colonialist projects.

Originally published in Spanish on February 21 in La Izquierda Diario.