Eide explained that Norway would prefer to work with “established institutions” like the World Bank. The Board of Peace does not publish its budget or organizational chart. And although it holds an account with the World Bank, it maintains separate holdings at JPMorgan Chase.
The hesitation was visible at a Wednesday briefing with Board of Peace officials on the sidelines of the U.N. At the event, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica announced she’d be signing onto two projects funded by Europe in partnership with U.N. agencies and “in alignment with the priorities of the Board of Peace.” But her description of the collaboration with the board was far from laudatory. The European Commission said in a statement that “considering the massive early recovery needs in Gaza, coordination and alignment at all levels is of course necessary to deliver on the ground.” The Board of Peace was announced a year ago during the General Assembly and held its first meeting in February.
The EU and most of its member states refused to join the Board of Peace, in part from concerns it could supplant the U.N. Since then, European nations have invited Board of Peace representatives to their meetings and attended Security Council briefings with the head of the board, Nickolay Mladenov. The joint projects are the first concrete step toward collaboration.
The grudging embrace of the body extends even to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, the organization that handles Palestinian refugees in Gaza and which Israel and the U.S. have pushed to sideline. The Board of Peace is “the one game in town,” said UNRWA’s interim head, Christian Saunders.
She said her country is working with the U.N. and the EU and “yes, where we see complementarity, of course, we are supporting what is happening at the Board of Peace level.” She added that she participated in a meeting with Mladenov at the U.N. on Thursday. A French official, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic affairs, stressed that “the U.N. should remain the primary forum for facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, resolving disputes and advancing the political process.” The Board of Peace sought, and received, endorsement by the U.N.) in November last year as “a transitional administration … that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for, the redevelopment of Gaza.” But it operates independently, and critics say it is a capitulation to Trump and to Israel. However, he said, “what is being decided is decided by Israel.” He pointed to ongoing Israeli restrictions on entry for heavy equipment and reconstruction equipment, which Israel says it will not permit until Hamas disarms.
But the Board of Peace plan to disarm Hamas has foundered. Moreover, Israel has continued lethal strikes on what it says are Hamas targets in Gaza, albeit at a smaller scale than last year. An Arab diplomat whose country is a member of the Board of Peace said the board speaks to Israel about civilian casualties “in a private capacity.
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