Gaza technocratic panel meets for first time, as officials fear it’s hobbled from get-go |
Members of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip (NCAG) held their first meeting on Thursday in Cairo, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.
The 15-member committee of Palestinian technocrats, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, were joined by Nikolay Mladenov, who will be overseeing their work on behalf of the Board of Peace headed by US President Donald Trump.
The committee also held a FaceTime call with Trump’s top aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who have led the administration’s Gaza policy, the diplomat said.
Mladenov is working with various stakeholders in the region to help secure a package of steps aimed at alleviating the Gaza humanitarian crisis, to boost NCAG’s legitimacy coming out of the gate, according to the diplomat
However, the diplomat said the effort has been marred 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 Arab diplomat said.
“The same is the case for police. If Israel doesn’t want those tied to the PA, what’s left are the ones on the Hamas payroll,” the Arab diplomat said.
The start of meetings of Gaza’s technocratic government in Cairo marks the opening of a new chapter in the lives of two million Palestinians, exhausted by an unprecedented war and years of devastation.
This may well be the most important government in Gaza’s history—not only… pic.twitter.com/4ZDD5DaMuy
— Samer Sinijlawiسامر السنجلاوي (@SSinijlawi) January 16, 2026
Prime Minister Benjamin........