DaysofPal- The United States announced on Saturday the creation of a Gaza Peace Council and the appointment of a senior representative to oversee the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the Palestinian National Committee’s start of operations to administer the territory.
The announcement comes two days after the launch of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Nikolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat and former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (2015–2020), was named as the Senior Representative to Gaza.
Mladenov has also served as Bulgaria’s Foreign and Defense Minister, a member of the European Parliament, and in 2013 was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Special Representative for Iraq.
The newly formed Peace Council will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former US envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Jared Kushner.
Advisors Arieh Laitstone and Josh Greenbaum, as well as General Jasper Givertz, who will command the international Gaza Stability Force, were also appointed.
An executive council for Gaza is planned to support governance and the delivery of essential services to promote stability, peace, and reconstruction.
Its members include Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Minister Hakan Fidan, Ali Al-Thawadi, General Hassan Rashad, Tony Blair, Mark Rowan, Minister Reem Al-Hashemi, Nikolay Mladenov, Yakir Gabay, and Sigrid Kage. Former President Donald Trump is slated to chair the council, according to the US plan unveiled late last year.
On Friday, Dr. Ali Shaath, head of the Palestinian National Committee for Gaza’s administration, confirmed that the committee had officially begun its work from Cairo, preparing to move into Gaza to implement urgent relief programs.
The second phase of the ceasefire, announced last Wednesday by US envoy Steve Witkoff after delays from the Israeli occupation, includes disarmament, the establishment of a technocratic government, and the launch of reconstruction efforts across the Gaza Strip.
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