By Janet Ekstract, ISTANBUL- On January 14, the U.S. announced the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, with a new committee formed to run Gaza. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the second phase focus will be on “demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction,” but without giving any key details of the process. The second phase also calls for establishing an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to deploy to Gaza. The ISF would support a Palestinian police force, allowing Israel to withdraw from territory it currently occupies. Meanwhile, The Times of Israel reported that members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) held their first meeting on January 14 in Cairo, according to an Arab diplomatic source. The anonymous diplomat said Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and former Bulgarian Defense Minister, will be supervising the 15-member committee of Palestinian technocrats, headed by former Palestinian Authority (PA) Deputy Minister Ali Shaath.
The diplomat explained that Mladenov is working with a variety of stakeholders in the region to assist in securing a package of steps to alleviate the Gaza humanitarian crisis and to boost NCAG’s legitimacy in its initial phase. The Arab diplomat said that Mladenov’s efforts are being hampered by Israeli opposition: “The technocratic committee is just a group of 15 people.
They need civil servants, but right now Israel is blocking both those on the Hamas payroll as well as those on the PA payroll.” The unnamed diplomat added, “The same is the case for the police. If Israel doesn’t want those tied to the PA, what’s left are the ones on the Hamas payroll.”
Meanwhile, A U.S. official did confirm the Israeli opposition to even lower-level PA involvement in Gaza management but said that the issue will be addressed in the near future. He added that the Cairo meeting’s goal is “setting the tone for the work that lies ahead.” The same official said that if the Gaza plan’s mediators make progress in disarming Hamas, then Israel would be more flexible in accepting a role for the PA in Gaza. According to the U.S. official, the prospects for disarmament look positive but talks with Hamas on disarmament are still in the beginning stages, U.S. officials said on January 15 in a briefing. Also, the Arab diplomat said that NCAG will have more leeway to work once the Board of Peace members are revealed, they will be responsible for overseeing the technocratic body. U.S. officials are expected to identify the Board of Peace next week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
