Global elites leverage Gaza reconstruction to expand corporate control amid systemic displacement and colonial legacies
Original framing: “Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ held talks with DP World over Gaza reconstruction: report” — The Hindu
Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure is part of a long-standing strategy to render Palestinian life unviable, dating back to the 1948 Nakba and intensifying in subsequent wars. Post-war reconstruction efforts, such as those in Bosnia and Kosovo, often deepened dependency on external actors rather than restoring sovereignty. The 'Board of Peace' model echoes Cold War-era 'peacebuilding' initiatives that prioritized geopolitical interests over local agency, as seen in U.S.-led reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The framing of Gaza’s reconstruction as a technical challenge solvable through elite intervention obscures the systemic violence of Israel’s occupation and the historical precedents of disaster capitalism in post-conflict zones.
Trump’s 'Board of Peace' and DP World’s involvement exemplify how corporate and political elites instrumentalize humanitarian crises to expand control, echoing Cold War-era 'peacebuilding' initiatives that prioritized geopolitical interests over local agency. Indigenous Palestinian knowledge, from communal land management to cultural resilience, offers a counter-narrative to top-down reconstruction, yet is systematically excluded in favor of profit-driven models. A decolonial approach—centered on reparations, community ownership, and psychosocial recovery—could transform Gaza’s reconstruction from a tool of domination into a model of self-determination. The path forward requires dismantling the neoliberal frameworks that have long dictated post-conflict recovery, replacing them with models grounded in Palestinian sovereignty and Global South solidarity.