Angry protestors confront World Bank chief over Trump ‘Board of Peace’ support
Mattia Bortali
|
9 April 2026
Ajay Banga is interrupted during April 7 talk at Atlantic Council. Photo Credit: Atlantic Council YouTube
ROME - Protestors have interrupted a speech by World Bank chief Ajay Banga, forcing him to defend his controversial backing for Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Gaza reconstruction project, witnesses said.
The awkward confrontation, which was filmed and spread on social media, comes as experts raise concern about the World Bank’s role in financing Trump’s initiative.
“It’s a board of genocide, not a board of peace” said one of the multiple protestors to interrupt Banga’s talk at a think tank in Washington DC on Tuesday, accusing the World Bank chief of being part of a plan to build a “’Gaza riviera’ on top of mass graves”.
Criticism of Banga has been growing since February, when he announced the World Bank would host a special fund to funnel donor contributions to Trump’s Board of Peace.
He has also accepted a seat on the body’s executive board.
Shifting nervously as the heckling protestors were escorted out of the room, Banga went on to defend his decision, highlighting a UN resolution calling on the World Bank to cooperate with the Board of Peace.
He appeared to minimise the Bank’s involvement in the project, assuring that while the Bank would act as a “limited trustee” of the special fund, “the Board of Peace will decide who to get the money from, the Board of Peace will decide how that money gets spent on the ground.”
The setup is highly unusual, financial analysts say, because it gives the World Bank no oversight over funds once they are transferred to Trump’s Gaza reconstruction project.
The arrangement risks entangling the bank in a politicised reconstruction effort, which could see the forced displacement of Palestinians from the devastated enclave, cautioned a recent Carnegie think tank report.
“A limited trustee role may not be sufficient to shield the Bank from liability associated with a development plan in which the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity is likely to be facilitated”, it warned.
© COPYRIGHT ITALIAN INSIDER
UNAUTHORISED REPRODUCTION FORBIDDEN