EU launches €883m Gaza plan while navigating Trump's Board of Peace
The EU has launched an €883.6 million recovery initiative for Gaza, but delivering these funds requires cooperating with Jared Kushner, the unofficial head of a US-led reconstruction body that Brussels refuses to endorse.
Foreign ministers gathered on Monday for the Palestine Donor Group conference to launch the "Team Gaza Initiative". The programme pools €883.6 million from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank for early recovery actions. Australia, Canada and Ireland are expected to pledge additional funds in the coming days.
The most notable attendee was Jared Kushner, appearing by video link. Though he holds no official US government position, Kushner effectively runs the Board of Peace (BoP), the body chaired by Donald Trump that is designed to control Gaza's reconstruction. The EU does not approve of the BoP and has explicitly barred member states from channelling money through its bank accounts, yet it cannot bypass Kushner entirely.
European investment in Gaza is meaningless without Israeli approval, and Israel retains the final say on all reconstruction projects. Middle Eastern governments and EU officials alike view Kushner as the essential bridge to Jerusalem. His presence at the donor conference, organised by EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, was the prerequisite for unlocking physical progress on the ground.
Kushner’s actual remarks were brief. One EU diplomat described his speech as “very choreographed” and lacking substance, focusing mostly on US involvement and the need to disarm Hamas. However, his participation allowed Šuica to announce the first two Israeli-approved recovery projects, targeting water infrastructure and solid waste management.
The €883.6 million initiative is a fraction of the $71 billion the EU and UN estimate is needed over the next decade. The US has not joined the programme, with EU officials insisting the effort is “not in competition” with the BoP’s long-term plan. “Only collective effort can help rebuild Gaza,” Šuica said after the meeting.
Šuica's decision to engage Kushner stems from her controversial visit to the BoP’s inaugural meeting in Washington last February. At the time, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot argued she lacked a mandate to represent the bloc. Nine months later, her diplomatic outreach secured Kushner's attendance where a previous US delegation had declined to show up. The EU remains the largest humanitarian donor to the Palestinians, having contributed €1.65 billion since the outbreak of the war in October 2023 and nearly €30 billion since 1994.
