Secretive Gaza meetings in Cyprus as plan to isolate Hamas gathers pace
Representatives of a US-led Board of Peace – headed by prominent international figures including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov – are convening to draw up a roadmap for the devastated enclave. The primary objective is to isolate Hamas from the Palestinian population and its resources through the implementation of Article 17 of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has now killed more than 73,000 Palestinians. However, the initiative is already buckling under the weight of financial crises, Israeli political gridlock, and legal controversies.
Article 17 of the Trump plan paves the way for what officials describe as a “temporary reconstruction” in areas designated as free of Hamas control. Rather than pouring concrete for permanent rebuilding, the plan envisions setting up temporary structures and providing medical services for civilians settling in those areas. According to reports from the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, the Board of Peace – the organisation set up by Trump in the wake of the October Gaza ceasefire – is scheduled to launch a pilot project within weeks in one such “Hamas-free” area, Tal as-Sultan area near Rafah. The plan aims to establish humanitarian shelter compounds for “unarmed” civilians, overseen by a multinational stabilisation force stationed at Camp Amitai on the border.
These multinational forces will be equipped only with batons to maintain public order, while the Israeli military fortifies its presence behind the “Yellow Line”, which separates areas of Gaza under Israeli control from those outside it. The strategy effectively allows for the Israeli military – with the support of the Board of Peace – to only allow for reconstruction to take place in areas under its control. By directing reconstruction, aid distribution, and civilian shelter to areas outside of Hamas’s control, Palestinians in Gaza may increasingly relocate to those areas, ultimately leading to a shift in population dynamics.