Key facts
- Donald Trump's Board of Peace has issued its first construction contract in Gaza.
- The contract is for a 150-person military outpost for Moroccan troops.
- Arkel International, a US firm, has been awarded the contract.
- The outpost is intended to support an international stabilization force (ISF).
- The base will be located near the Israeli border within territory controlled by the Israeli army.
Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, established in January to oversee Gaza's reconstruction, has issued its first construction contract for a military outpost. The contract, which is not yet finalized, is for a 150-person military base intended to house Moroccan troops.
Arkel International, a firm based in Louisiana with prior work for the U.S. government in countries like Iraq, has been awarded the contract. A Board of Peace official confirmed that several contract awards are in the final stages, but none have been finalized. This prospective contract is described as one of many essential for Gaza's future and concerns facilities to support an international stabilization force (ISF).
The planned base is relatively small, measuring 100 meters by 120 meters, and is situated within the 60% of Gaza's territory directly controlled by the Israeli army, approximately a mile from the Israeli border. It includes a "quick extraction route" for security purposes. Earlier plans had envisioned a larger 5,000-person military base for the ISF.
The award follows Trump's recent announcement that Hamas had agreed to disarm, a claim met with skepticism and met with increased Israeli airstrikes. The Board of Peace's original ambitious reconstruction blueprint had previously been scaled back to a pilot project. The UN resolution authorizing the Board of Peace had approved the establishment of an ISF, with Morocco having pledged a contingent, though the deployment details remain unclear.