Trump announces the formation of a Peace Council for Gaza
Following the official announcement of the establishment of the National Commission for the Administration of Gaza, which includes 15 independent Palestinian figures, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the Peace Council for Gaza has been formed.
Trump announced the creation of the Gaza “Peace Council” outlined in the U.S. plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “It is a great honor for me to announce that the Peace Council has been formed,” adding that “the list of its members will be revealed soon”.
He further stated: “I can confirm that it is the greatest and most distinguished council ever formed at any time and in any place”.
The Peace Council, which will be chaired by the U.S. president, is expected to include Arab and international heads of state and government. The National Commission for the Administration of Gaza will be accountable to the Council.
The U.S. president said he supports the “newly formed Palestinian technocratic government” in Gaza.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “I support the newly formed Palestinian technocratic government, namely the National Commission for the Administration of Gaza, with the support of the Council’s High Representative, to administer Gaza during the transitional period”.
The Bulgarian diplomat Nikolay Mladenov, who served as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process from early 2015 until the end of 2020, is expected to lead the Peace Council’s field operations.
According to Axios, countries expected to join the Council include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.
On Thursday, U.S. officials announced that Washington has begun sending invitations to international parties to participate in the international Peace Council, which will temporarily administer the Gaza Strip.
This move comes after Washington announced the launch of the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, despite the failure to fully implement some key elements of the first phase, according to the same officials.
U.S. officials noted that “many countries” will participate in a peacekeeping force in Gaza, to be announced at a later stage, while emphasizing Washington’s efforts to push Turkey and Israel toward rebuilding their relations.
They also revealed that major decisions concerning Gaza will be announced during the Davos Forum, noting that the United States will hold talks with Israel regarding a potential amnesty program that could be offered to Hamas.
They added that Washington will also hold discussions with Hamas on the next phase of the plan, which focuses on disarmament, while acknowledging that Israel remains skeptical about the feasibility of this approach.
On Wednesday, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
In a post on the X platform, Witkoff said: “Today, on behalf of President Trump, we announce the launch of the second phase of the President’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which transitions from a ceasefire to disarmament, technocratic governance, and reconstruction”.
He added: “The second phase establishes a transitional Palestinian technocratic administration in Gaza, namely the National Commission for the Administration of Gaza, and initiates a comprehensive process of disarmament and reconstruction, particularly the disarmament of all unauthorized individuals present there”.
Witkoff stated that “the United States expects Hamas to fully comply with its commitments, including the immediate return of the last deceased hostage,” warning that “failure to do so will result in severe consequences”.
He noted that “the first phase delivered historic humanitarian assistance, maintained the ceasefire, and secured the return of all living hostages as well as the remains of 27 out of 28 deceased hostages”.
The U.S. envoy said: “We are deeply grateful to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar for their indispensable mediation efforts, which have made all this progress possible so far”.
As part of this phase, Israel is expected to carry out further withdrawals from approximately 53% of the Gaza Strip, while reconstruction will begin in the Rafah area in southern Gaza.
