WASHINGTON: The United States said Wednesday (Jan 14) that it is moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan that involves disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs in Gaza under American supervision.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in a post on X that the ceasefire deal that the Republican president helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and Hamas, including the establishment of a technocratic government in Gaza.
But Witkoff did not offer any details about who would serve on the new transitional Palestinian administration that would govern Gaza. Trump’s White House did not immediately offer any more information, either.
The mediators of the ceasefire deal – Egypt, Turkey and Qatar – welcomed the establishment of the committee and said it would be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.
“This is an important development to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” they said in a joint statement.
The Gaza native served as a deputy minister for transportation with the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority. Shaath, an engineer, is an expert in economic development and reconstruction, according to his biography on the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute’s website.
Witkoff said that the US expects Hamas to immediately return the final dead hostage as part of its obligations under the deal.
While Wednesday’s announcement indicates a key step forward, a new government in Gaza and ceasefire face a number of huge challenges – including the deployment of an international security force to supervise the deal and the difficult process of disarming Hamas.
Appointees to a technocratic committee are part of a broader plan to end Hamas’ 18-year rule of Gaza. The appointees will run day-to-day affairs in Gaza, under the oversight of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have also not yet been named.