Gaza is the Bedrock for a New World Order Led by Private Capital
Gaza is being used as the launchpad for Trump’s Board of Peace, a finance driven governance model where capital buys authority. It sidelines justice, violates the UN mandate, and deepens instability.
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At the World Economic Forum on 22 January 2026, US President Donald Trump unveiled the Board of Peace, his latest gambit in reshaping international relations. Trump signed the charter of this new entity, framing it as a pragmatic instrument for conflict resolution. Yet, beneath the veneer of diplomatic triumph lies a profound ideological shift. Trump is jettisoning the traditional politics of multilateralism and justice in favour of a finance-driven paradigm, where investments and profit-seeking dictate the terms of global order. Gaza is positioned as the inaugural test case for this board. This development signals the ascendancy of private capital over public accountability, rendering the aspirations of the dispossessed irrelevant in the calculus of profit.
The Board of Ideological War
Trump’s disdain for the politics of the poor and justice is palpable in his approach. He has long positioned himself as a champion of deal-making, rooted in his real estate empire, where value derives from location and investment potential rather than dignity or human rights or justice. The Board of Peace embodies this ethos, transforming geopolitical conflicts into opportunities for financial optimisation. In his Davos address, Trump described Gaza as “prime beachfront property” with untapped prospects for tourism, airports, ports, and manufacturing hubs. “See, I’m a real estate person at heart, and it’s all about location,” he declared, envisioning a transformation where “people that are living so poorly are going to be living so well.” This rhetoric strips the Palestinian struggle of its political dimensions, reducing it to a redevelopment project contingent on demilitarisation and investor inflows. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, elaborated on zoning Gaza into residential and coastal tourism areas, urging investors to commit billions within 100 days. Such visions prioritise economic redevelopment over addressing root causes like occupation and displacement, underscoring Trump’s preference for the politics of capital markets, profit, and investment to govern all spheres.
This pivot represents an ideological war waged by the rich against the poor, deeming the latter voiceless in global affairs. The Board of Peace reveals the inner dynamics of a wealth-based world order, where money and access override everything and financial performance becomes the sole metric of success. Membership in the board is invitation-only, with permanent status granted to nations contributing over $1 billion in the first year, incentivising affluent states while marginalising others. Trump’s role as inaugural chairman, with veto powers, successor designation, and authority to dissolve the entity, centralises control in a manner that echoes corporate governance rather than democratic diplomacy. The Board charter omits any specific reference to Gaza, despite United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025) mandating the board’s focus on postwar Gaza management until the end of 2027. Instead, it articulates a broad mission to promote stability and peace in conflict zones worldwide, allowing flexibility for application to other arenas like Ukraine. This expansion violates the UN’s temporary and Gaza-centric intent, positioning the board as a rival to it.
The charter’s structure further entrenches this capital-driven hierarchy. Its preamble advocates a “nimble” approach over “dependency-creating” ones, aligning with Trump’s critique of welfare-oriented international aid. Governance vests extraordinary powers in the chairman, including tie-breaking votes, subsidiary creation, and final interpretation authority. Amendments to core chapters require unanimous approval plus chairman confirmation, while the board endures until Trump or his successor opts for dissolution. Finances rely solely on voluntary contributions, favouring deep-pocketed donors like Qatar and the UAE.
The peace that never was
Trump’s false claims about resolved conflicts compound the board’s dubious foundations. In his speech, he portrayed the Gaza ceasefire as largely holding, diminishing the ongoing conflict. Israeli strikes continue and Hamas remains entrenched amid partial occupation, and the conflict is poised to explode anew. Trump’s track record also invites scepticism. The Abraham Accords, his signature Middle East initiative from his first term, promised normalisation between Israel and Arab states but faltered in delivering lasting peace. Economic ties flourished, yet political grievances festered, contributing to the October 2023 war outbreak. Moreover, the board’s fragility is evident in its dependence on US leadership. A new American president could dissolve it outright, given the charter’s provisions allowing the chairman to terminate the entity at will. This vulnerability underscores the board’s status as a personal project rather than a real institution.
Trump and his rich backers are committing a grave error in attempting to mend global issues through money and coercion alone, as history attests to the futility of this strategy. In Gaza, the board’s focus on investment ignores legitimate political demands for self-determination and justice, viewing human suffering through the lens of profitability. This oversight will incite local rebellions in Gaza and everywhere, as human aspirations for dignity inevitably triumph over a money-making agenda that disregards the value of life, choice, and autonomy.
The Board is not truly about Gaza at all and signifies the rich losing their composure, failing to confront authentic political conflicts, and exposing a bankruptcy in their worldview. Sidelining the UN and elevating private capital reveals an exhaustion of ideas among elites, resorting to financial might instead of constructive cooperation. Gaza has become the laboratory where the rich test a new governing doctrine in public. They are not rebuilding a territory. They are rebuilding legitimacy itself, and they are doing it by stripping politics down to a balance sheet.
The Board of Peace, in this framework, functions as a vehicle for securing commercial access to post-conflict markets, positioning American and allied capital to dominate reconstruction and development.
The destiny of Gaza and the Board of Peace
Palestinians have endured decades of occupation, and their grievances are political. These grievances cannot be resolved with construction projects and trade agreements alone. A rebuilt Gaza under external administration, without addressing the occupation, is a dressed-up continuation of the status quo.
The Board’s approach ignores this reality. It treats politics as an obstacle to be managed rather than the substance of the problem to be solved. By excluding Palestinian voices from the design of their own future, the Board guarantees that its efforts will be perceived as illegitimate and won’t endure.
Trump’s initiative accelerates the erosion of justice-oriented politics, entrenching a system that privileges profit over people. The mistake the rich are committing is to believe that they can manage the world through financial instruments and military power alone. History suggests otherwise. The Soviet Union collapsed despite its military might and the British Empire dissolved despite its economic dominance.
The United States failed in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan despite overwhelming superiority in resources and technology. Power, even overwhelming power, cannot impose stable order without legitimacy. Legitimacy requires consent. Consent requires that people believe their interests are represented and their grievances addressed.
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