Gaza Meetings in Cyprus Spark Plan to Isolate Hamas

US-Led Board of Peace to Discuss Gaza’s Future Amid Funding Crisis

A delegation from Hamas is currently holding talks with mediators in Cairo as discussions on Gaza’s next administrative phase take place in the Cypriot resort city of Ayia Napa. Representatives of a US-led Board of Peace, comprising prominent international figures such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov, are convening to develop a roadmap for the devastated enclave.

The primary objective is to implement Article 17 of President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s conflict with Gaza. This article aims to isolate Hamas from the Palestinian population by establishing temporary reconstruction areas in designated zones. The initiative has faced financial crises, Israeli political gridlock, and legal controversies.

According to reports, the Board of Peace plans to launch a pilot project in the Tal as-Sultan area near Rafah within weeks, focusing on humanitarian shelter compounds for civilians. A multinational stabilisation force will oversee these facilities, while the Israeli military maintains its presence behind the “Yellow Line” separating areas under Israeli control from those outside it.

The strategy allows for reconstruction and aid distribution to take place in areas outside Hamas’s control, potentially leading to a relocation of Palestinians to those areas. However, this plan faces resistance within Israel, with some arguing that implementing Article 17 constitutes a strategic gamble.

A leaked draft resolution published by The Guardian has also raised concerns about the Board of Peace’s intentions. According to reports, the document seeks sweeping legal immunity for its members and contractors, as well as efforts to seize public facilities without compensation. A Board of Peace official dismissed the leak as misleading, but experts have warned that such a document would effectively transform the organisation into a “colonial occupation authority”.

Source: Al Jazeera