Trump's Peace Council Signs First Gaza Project Contract for Moroccan Military Base

The Peace Council established by President Donald Trump in January to oversee Gaza's reconstruction has issued its first construction contract in the Gaza Strip. The project involves building a basic military outpost designed to house 150 Moroccan troops who will rotate from a base in Israel. The contract, not yet finalized, was awarded to Arkel International, a Louisiana-based company with prior experience working for the U.S. government in Iraq and globally.

A council official told The Guardian that the Peace Council and the Palestinian technocratic National Authority for Gaza Management are finalizing several contracts, including facilities to support the International Stabilization Force (ISF), which will help implement security and governance arrangements. The planned base will cover 100 by 120 meters, located near the Israeli border within the approximately 60% of Gaza territory directly controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

This base is intended as the initial phase of a larger plan to establish a 5,000-person military base for the ISF. The first stage will include tents, field beds, chemical toilets, and handwashing stations, along with a "quick evacuation route" in case of attack. The announcement comes days after Trump claimed Hamas agreed to disarm, a move opposed by Israel and followed by intensified Israeli airstrikes.

Previously, in July, The Guardian reported that Jared Kushner's grand plan for a modern coastal city called "New Gaza" had been drastically scaled down to a small pilot project in southern Gaza. Ten months after the ceasefire and the start of the reconstruction process, most Gaza residents still live in temporary, unsanitary camps amid destruction of at least 80% of Gaza's buildings.