Trump's High-Profile "Peace Committee" Raises Not a Single Dollar for Gaza — Four Months On

Four months ago, US President Donald Trump launched what he called the "Peace Committee," pledging to raise $17 billion for Gaza's reconstruction. Today, the fund is empty. Despite ongoing US-Iran ceasefire negotiations and Israel's continued strikes on Palestinians, not a cent has been collected. Member states have pledged billions, yet the committee's Gaza reconstruction fund holds no cash. Legal and political uncertainty have left it paralyzed — and reconstruction indefinitely on hold.

Trump had declared the "Peace Committee" one of the "most impactful" international organizations ever created. The committee levied billions in "lifetime membership" fees on world leaders. Member states pledged contributions to its Gaza "relief programme," and the United States itself committed an additional $10 billion.

Four months ago, Trump launched his so-called "Board of Peace," promising to raise funds for Gaza's reconstruction.

The reality is stark. According to a Financial Times report published Wednesday, the World Bank fund established for the Peace Committee has yet to receive a single dollar. The report cited four sources, one of whom stated plainly: "Zero dollars have been deposited." A board spokesperson confirmed the committee had received donations — but said those funds were deposited directly into its JPMorgan Chase account, bypassing the World Bank entirely.

A Peace Committee official offered a defense: "a number of options were established to receive funding… at this point, contributors have opted to use other options." The critical difference, however, is that the JPMorgan Chase account carries no obligation to report its financial status to donors or board members. The official added that a financial report would be presented to the executive board — composed of Trump administration officials and other advisors — "at a time deemed appropriate."

The Peace Committee hit back on X, accusing the Financial Times of trying to "sow doubt about the commitment of the US and partners to the Board of Peace". The committee argued the report “cite just one of many funding mechanisms that to date has not been utilized by the donor community”. It nonetheless acknowledged receiving funds through other mechanisms.

Some contributions have trickled in through separate channels, though none are flowing freely. It’s reported that Morocco has donated approximately $20 million to fund the office of Nikolay Mladenov, the post-war Gaza "high representative," and to cover salaries for a Palestinian technocratic committee. The UAE separately allocated $100 million specifically to train a new Gaza police force — but those funds have been frozen, and the programme has yet to launch.

The US State Department has pledged to redirect approximately $1.2 billion in existing aid funding toward projects on the committee's agenda. None of it has been disbursed. A senior congressional aide made clear that not one dollar of these funds is managed by the Peace Committee — and the State Department has no intention of allowing it to be.

The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the fund has yet to receive a single dollar.

A congressional aide further revealed that the State Department had sought to transfer approximately $50 million directly to the committee — but has yet to release those funds. The State Department said it "supports the President's vision" and continues to assess how best to advance these goals using existing authorities, programmes, and interagency coordination.

The board has begun issuing tenders for security and reconstruction work in Gaza. But no contracts have been awarded. The reason is as basic as it is telling: no operations have commenced on the ground, because Hamas has not yet been disarmed.

Trump's original reconstruction plan was built on three pillars: disarm Hamas, withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, and rebuild the territory. None of these objectives have advanced in any meaningful way. Two individuals familiar with Gaza planning confirmed that "not one US dollar" has been spent on reconstruction.

Reconstruction in Gaza has not begun — there is simply no money to do anything.

Dr. Bishara Bahbah — a prominent Palestinian-American scholar who assisted the Trump administration in negotiations with Hamas — put it bluntly: The committee has yet to conduct any work in Gaza due to a complete absence of funding. "They know that if they go to Gaza, people are going to flood to them to ask for assistance, and they have no tools, no means".

The board spokesperson acknowledged the committee has not yet addressed the service and logistics systems envisioned under the plan. The spokesperson's defense was an unusual one: "We’re not, like, hoarding money in a bank account and then awarding contracts for things that can’t be delivered."

The Peace Committee was formally launched in January, when Trump signed founding documents alongside representatives of more than a dozen countries and territories at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump himself serves as chair. The committee's founding executive board consists of seven members, predominantly American, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the US side, the Peace Committee will first address the Gaza situation before expanding to tackle "other conflicts."

The gap between ambition and action is immense. A joint assessment by the EU, the United Nations, and the World Bank estimates that Gaza's reconstruction will require at least $70 billion over the next ten years. Four months in, not a single dollar of reconstruction funding has reached Gaza — and no credible path to delivery is in sight.

Deep Throat

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

A 24-year-old "dark history" clip of Prime Minister Takaichi has resurfaced on Japanese social media. In it, she comments on Japan's war against China, and the footage has quickly drawn renewed attention.

Renowned political commentator and TV host Soichiro Tahara interviewed Takaichi on a 2002 news program. He pressed her on her support for right-wing politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine.

When asked whether Japan's invasion of China was a war of self-preservation and self-defense, Takaichi said she believed it was. Tahara immediately denounced her on air as ignorant and naive.

Resurfaced 2002 clip shows host branding Takaichi ignorant over China war denial.

The On-Air Clash

According to Japanese media, the clip originated from "Sunday Project," an Asahi TV program broadcast on August 18, 2002. Tahara hosted the segment. He questioned guests about right-wing politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II.

Takaichi supported such visits at the time. So Tahara asked how she viewed Japan's invasion of China. He asked whether she considered Japan's war to have been a war of self-preservation and self-defense. Takaichi said she believed it was. Her response immediately drew Tahara's resentment.

On air, Takaichi said Japan's invasion of China was self-preservation and self-defense.

Tahara raised his voice in response. This was no joke. The Manchurian Incident, he said, was instigated by the Japanese military, specifically the Kwantung Army. They fabricated the whole thing. That was clearly a war of aggression.

As Takaichi tried to respond, Tahara pressed on. He noted that even former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone had called the Manchurian Incident strange. Then he asked why Japan would invade Manchuria in the name of self-defense and establish a puppet state there.

Takaichi insisted that colonizing other countries was a widely accepted international norm at the time. Other nations were doing the same, she argued, so Japan's actions should not be considered aggression.

Takaichi claimed colonizing others was then normal, so Japan did not commit act of aggression.

Tahara rebutted her directly with historical evidence. He said the fact that she called this act of aggression self-preservation and self-defense only showed her ignorance. It was truly alarming, he added, that a member of parliament held such an ignorant view of history.

Tahara told Takaichi a lawmaker with such ignorant history views was deeply troubling.

Still, Takaichi pushed back. At the very least, she said, she believed it was a war fought for security. Tahara shot back sharply. That naïve view, he said, was simply laughable.

Neither the host nor the media could have imagined it at the time. A politician who distorted history and denied Japan's wartime crimes would, more than two decades later, become the country's prime minister.

The clip has reignited public debate, and Tahara responded to it directly. On July 26, he updated his account on X and expressed his wish to have a dialogue with Takaichi.

Right-Wing Echoes, Real-World Risk

According to Global Times' new media outlet, this 2002 video resurfaces every few years, sparking fresh rounds of controversy. What stands out this time, the report says, is how voices defending Takaichi's historical distortions are spreading.

Right-wing forces on the fringes of Japanese society are amplifying these voices through the internet and social media, wrongly influencing a growing number of Japanese people.

Online right-wing rhetoric is one problem, but the report argues something else matters more. Far more consequential is the new-style militarism Takaichi has pursued since taking office, marked by accelerated military expansion.

This is precisely why neighboring countries, including China, remain especially wary of Japan under her leadership.

Why Japan Never Faced Its Past

Citing historical analysis from authoritative mainland media, the report states that Japanese society has long been plagued by distortions of its history of aggression. Wartime crimes have been whitewashed for decades, and many far-right figures have now risen to political power. Japan, unlike Germany, never fully confronted the ideological roots of its militarism after World War II.

As the Cold War took shape, the United States substantially revised its Japan policy out of bloc-confrontation considerations. It halted mid-way efforts to purge militarist forces, and many war criminals were treated leniently and allowed to return to politics.

This, the report suggests, is the key reason for the stark contrast between the two defeated powers. Germany thoroughly reckoned with Nazi crimes and reflected deeply on the war, while Japan has long evaded its history of aggression and refused to sincerely atone for it.