This time, the committee is final, foreigners will hold top positions in Gaza governance

US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United States has completed preparations to form a special committee of Palestinian technocrats to take over the governance of the Gaza Strip. This information was reported on Wednesday (January 14), citing Arab and American media. The proposed committee will be headed by former Deputy Minister of the Palestinian Ministry of Planning Ali Shath and will be supervised by former UN peace coordinator for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov.

According to a report by the Middle East Eye, the 15-member committee will take charge of running Gaza and will work under a so-called 'Board of Peace' headed by US President Donald Trump. The board will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza. Former Bulgarian diplomat Mladenov is set to be the board’s “high representative.”

Nickolay Mladenov visited Israel last week and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Palestinian leaders. Qatar-based Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reported that the committee members had been asked to keep their appointments secret for now, so that Donald Trump could formally announce the initiative himself.

“We have been told clearly that the first announcement of the committee will be made by President Donald Trump,” a committee member told the outlet. The proposed committee would include individuals from Gaza who are not directly affiliated with any Palestinian political party. Sources said the committee’s first meeting could be held in Egypt and Cairo is coordinating with Israeli authorities to arrange travel for Gaza-based members. At least four potential members have been in Egypt since the war began.

Hamas's position: Al Arabi TV reported that a senior Hamas leader said the organization had no objection to the names of the proposed committee members. A Hamas delegation, led by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the committee and the implementation of the ceasefire. They also met with other Palestinian groups on Wednesday.