Israel is refusing to authorize a planned key military outpost for Donald Trump’s Peace Council in Gaza, the Guardian has learned.
In early August, the Board of Peace, the international organization authorized in 2025 by the UN and chaired by the US president, released its first construction contract for Gaza: Louisiana-based Arkel International would build a military outpost for 150 international troops that would be the vanguard of an international stabilization force.
Two months later, Israel still has not allowed the deal to move forward, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Contractors and trucks are not allowed to enter Gaza and start work. “Israel will not open the border,” they said.
A spokesman for the Board of Peace declined to comment. The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government have refused to comment.
Israel’s war in Gaza is one of eight wars that Trump claims to have resolved. He mentioned it again last week in a speech on social media, protesting that it was unfair not to have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Peace Council, formed following the October 2025 ceasefire in Gaza, is at the heart of Trump’s claims to have ended the conflict.
Arkel’s planned “temporary mission support site outpost” is decidedly rudimentary: a fortified position, about 100 meters by 100 meters, on a site that was once part of the controversial and now-defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation project, according to the person familiar with the matter. The US-backed GHF operated in Gaza from May 2025 to October 2025 to provide aid protected by private contractors.
The base would host short, rotating deployments of a well-armed force of 150 soldiers to Gaza, the person said. They are believed to come from a larger group of 500 people already sent from Morocco and Kosovo.
But without this contract, the source said, the rest of the Board of Peace program will not be able to get off the ground. Israel’s refusal to allow Arkel, the contractor, to build the base essentially cuts the legs of the Peace Council.
“You can’t go in without (an international stabilization force (ISF)). You can’t rebuild,” the person said. “There is no security. There are no deliveries of construction materials. You can’t even start putting in place utilities. You can’t start putting in place basic life support facilities, as you know, because without the ISF you can’t get in there.”
The person familiar with the matter said the Peace Council believes the Israeli government will let the project continue after Israeli elections, scheduled for October 27.
The controversial Peace Council has a unique structure. Trump is designated president for life. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is on the board, as is real estate developer Steve Witkoff, whom Trump has appointed as mediator in various international disputes.
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Although many Western democracies have kept their distance from the Peace Council, 28 countries joined it as founding members earlier this year. Kushner unveiled renderings of a futuristic vision of Gaza, where the city was envisioned as a pristine luxury resort with high-tech skyscrapers overlooking the Mediterranean.
On September 23, the group unveiled what it billed as a six-month, $2.45 billion plan as a first step toward rebuilding, the cost of which over 10 years is estimated at $71 billion.
There were lofty promises and requests for contributions. “Today we can see real progress,” Witkoff announced.
A senior U.S. advisor to the board, Aryeh Lightstone, announced that a new fund would be launched. “Your wealthy donations will go directly to the Palestinian people,” he said. Lightstone has traveled in Trump circles since the president’s first term. He officiated as rabbi at the 2020 wedding of Trump adviser Stephen Miller to Katie Miller.
Israel has continued its strikes in Gaza since the October ceasefire, killing around 1,400 people during that period, according to Gaza health authorities.
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