Egypt Says All Gaza Technical Committee Members Agreed on Palestinian factions

Egypt on Wednesday said all members of the 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with managing the Gaza Strip, post-war, had been agreed upon by all Palestinian factions, who quickly offered their support.

Based on the 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan brokered by US President Donald Trump in October, the Palestinian territory will be ruled by a committee operating under the supervision of the so-called "Peace Council," which will be headed by Trump himself.

Hamas officials said earlier that day the group had opened talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on the committee, which is part of Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan.

"We hope that after this agreement, the committee will be announced soon and then deployed to the Gaza Strip to manage daily life and essential services," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (15/1).

The majority of Palestinian factions offered their support to the committee after Foreign Minister Abdelatty's announcement.

In a statement, the factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had agreed "to support the efforts of the mediators in forming the Palestinian National Transitional Committee to manage the Gaza Strip, while providing the right environment" for the committee to begin its work.

The Palestinian presidency based in Ramallah also announced its support in official media, with a source from the office telling AFP that the statement "reflects the position of the Fatah movement as President (Mahmoud) Abbas is also the head of Fatah."

The meeting in Cairo aims to discuss the formation of the committee and its operational mechanisms, a senior Hamas official told AFP earlier on condition of anonymity.

Separately, the Hamas delegation will also hold talks in Cairo with other Palestinian factions leaders on "political, national, and field developments" as well as the state of the Gaza ceasefire, the official added.

Previously, Hamas has repeatedly said it is not seeking a role in any future governing authority in the Palestinian territories, and will limit its role to monitoring the government to ensure stability and facilitate reconstruction.

Talks with the Egyptian mediator were also focused on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reopening of the Rafah crossing, the entry of aid currently stockpiled on the Egyptian side of the border, and preparations to launch the second phase of the ceasefire plan, the official said.

However, Foreign Minister Abdelatty did not mention the names of the members of the committee that had been agreed upon.

However, two names circulating as candidates for chairman are Ali Shaath, former deputy minister of planning in the Palestinian Authority, and Majed Abu Ramadan, current health minister, said the second official.

It is known that the Peace Council proposed by President Trump is expected to be led in the field by the Bulgarian diplomat and politician Nickolay Mladenov, who recently held talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Mladenov previously served as the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 to late 2020.

Media reports say Trump is expected to announce the members of the Peace Council in the coming days, with the body expected to include around 15 world leaders.