Israel is refusing to allow a planned military outpost for Donald Trump's Board of Peace to be built in Gaza, leaving the contract signed for the project stalled at the border. Two months after the work was awarded, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, Israel has still not permitted the contract to move forward.

The blocked contract and the base it covers

In early August 2026, the Board of Peace issued its first construction contract for Gaza to Louisiana-based Arkel International. The contract covers a fortified military outpost intended to house 150 international troops, who would form the vanguard of an international stabilization force.

• •The outpost is planned as a fortified position of about 100 meters by 100 meters.
• •It would sit on a site once part of the defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation project, a US-backed body that delivered aid protected by private contractors from May 2025 to October 2025.
• •The 150 troops would serve in short rotating deployments, drawn from a larger component of 500 already sent from Morocco and Kosovo.

What has not moved is the work itself: contractors and trucks are not being allowed to cross into Gaza and begin. "Israel won't open the border," the person said.

What the Board of Peace is and who runs it

The Board of Peace is an international organization authorized in 2025 by the UN and chaired by the US president. It was formed in the wake of an October 2025 ceasefire in Gaza. Trump is designated as chair for life, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is an executive board member, as is real estate developer Steve Witkoff. Twenty-eight countries joined as founding members earlier in 2026, though many western democracies have kept their distance.

The wider reconstruction plan on hold

The stalled base sits at the front of a larger program. On 23 September the group unveiled what it said was a six-month, $2.45bn plan, described as the first step toward reconstruction with an estimated 10-year cost of $71bn. Kushner has unveiled renderings of a futuristic vision of Gaza as a pristine luxury waterfront resort city with hi-tech skyscrapers overlooking the Mediterranean.

At the unveiling, Steve Witkoff announced: "Today we can point to real progress".

That progress now depends on the outpost, according to the person with direct knowledge. Without the Arkel contract, they said, the rest of the Board of Peace program cannot launch. They framed the stakes in starker terms: "You can't get in without [an international stabilization force (ISF)]. You can't rebuild" - with no security, no construction equipment deliveries, and no utilities or basic life-support facilities.

No comment and a possible opening

A Board of Peace spokesperson declined to comment, and neither the Israeli Defense Forces nor the Israeli government responded to requests for comment.

For now, contractors and trucks remain unable to cross into Gaza. The Board of Peace believes Israel's government will let the project proceed after the Israeli elections scheduled for 27 October.