A new committee composed of Palestinians will be named to oversee governance of Gaza as the plans for the area shift to a rebuilding phase.
The Trump administration is expected to announce on Wednesday a 15-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza of Palestinian technocrats to manage governing decisions and daily operations in the war-ravaged area, the Wall Street Journal reported. The implementation of the governing committee will begin the second phase of the 20-point peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump.
The new NCAG committee will work in conjunction with the previously announced Board of Peace, an international leadership body governed by Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials announced that Nickolay Mladenov will be named as the high representative of the Board of Peace. The names of the people on NCAG will also be revealed on Wednesday.
Mladenov will serve as the liaison between NCAG and the Board of Peace, reported the Wall Street Journal. The Board of Peace will feature 12 people and will comprise the “most important leaders of the most important nations.”
The decision to announce the NCAG committee comes just days after Hamas directed its governing entities to relinquish control and “hand over all areas” to NCAG during this transitional phase, as the Washington Examiner previously reported. No deadline, however, was immediately announced for the Hamas-approved change. Doing so, however, was a stipulation of the aforementioned peace plan.
Despite the Gaza plan proceeding to the next phase, skepticism persists over its sustainability, particularly due to lingering concerns about Hamas. The Wall Street Journal reported that senior Middle Eastern officials are concerned that Hamas has yet to disarm, a stipulation of the peace deal. Moreover, this uncertainty endures due to Hamas’s failure to provide specific information regarding its obligation to disarm.
Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration, told the Wall Street Journal of his Hamas concerns and how the group could jeopardize sustainable peace in Gaza.
“I’m concerned that Hamas will emerge from this whole episode battered, bruised, but still clinging to power, still posing a threat, still crushing any dissent from Gaza,” said Shapiro. “That would start the clock ticking toward a next round of conflict.”
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN GAZA
One of those expected to be named to NCAG on Wednesday is Gaza Chamber of Commerce chairman Ayad Abu Ramadan, according to The Times of Israel. It is believed he will be named NCAG’s commissioner for Economy, Trade, and Industry. He expressed a strong eagerness to get to work and alleviate the suffering of the residents in Gaza.
“The people in Gaza are suffering immensely. They are living in inhumane conditions in a big jail,” Abu Ramadan told The Times of Israel. “We’re looking forward to ending all of this, to starting recovery and reconstruction, and to holding the world to its commitment to peace.”
“Now, it’s President Trump’s turn to execute his plan, which we’re ready for and thrilled that it’s finally starting,” Abu Ramadan said.