US to unveil Gaza governance plan despite concerns over Hamas
Hamas hasn’t yet begun disarming, a fact some officials believe could imperil the peace plan.
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration will announce Wednesday the U.S. is moving to the next step of its Gaza plan and name a committee of Palestinians to temporarily run the bombed-out enclave, U.S. officials said.
Since a fragile cease-fire in Gaza is holding and Hamas has returned all but one deceased hostage, U.S. officials assess that they can now shift from halting the conflict to governing and rebuilding the territory, which the administration labels Phase 2 of its 20-point blueprint.
The plan still faces deep skepticism from some senior Middle Eastern officials as Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the U.S.— has yet to detail how, if at all, it plans to disarm under the terms of the cease-fire President Trump brokered last October.
The U.S. is expected to announce the names of 15 Palestinian technocrats on the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, who will be responsible for everyday management of the enclave including sanitation, utilities and education.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former U.N. envoy for Middle East peace and Bulgarian foreign minister, will be named as the new high representative for the Trump-chaired Board of Peace, overseeing the implementation of the peace plan, the U.S. officials said.
Mladenov will act as the conduit between the panel of Palestinian technocrats and the Board of Peace, officials said.
The roughly 12-member Board of Peace will provide high-level direction on matters in Gaza, the U.S. officials said. Trump, speaking Sunday to reporters aboard Air Force One, said it would consist of the “most important leaders of the most important nations." He has yet to name the members.
The long-awaited announcement shows how the Trump administration aims to turn Gaza’s post-war rubble into a safe place to live, before then converting it into a high-tech riviera in the Middle East. Trump’s Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, led the development of the plan.
The administration hasn’t yet announced which countries will take part in an International Stabilization Force of foreign troops to maintain order in Gaza. The U.S. officials said that information would be released at a later date.
The next phase of the peace plan faces hurdles to bring a lasting peace to Gaza. Hamas has yet to disarm, which current and former officials say stymies Gaza’s reconstruction as well as efforts to establish a viable governance structure outside of the group’s influence.
“Hamas proved to be much more resilient than most expected early in the war," said Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration.
“I’m concerned that Hamas will emerge from this whole episode battered, bruised, but still clinging to power, still posing a threat, still crushing any dissent from Gaza," he said. “That would start the clock ticking toward a next round of conflict."
The Israeli government has said the U.S. plan for Gaza can’t move on from the first cease-fire phase until the body of Ran Gvili is returned to Israel. Gvili, a police officer, was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel that triggered the war.
The plan’s success is largely contingent on Hamas laying down its arms and willingly ceding control in Gaza, the U.S. officials said. While largely decimated by Israel since the war began, Hamas remains a threat to Palestinians in Gaza as well as Israel, they say.
Indonesia and Morocco have both committed to contributing troops to the international force known as the ISF, the U.S. officials said, but the Trump administration hasn’t yet announced how large the force will be.
Many countries interested in joining have stressed that they don’t want their troops to be asked to forcibly strip Hamas of its weapons, the U.S. officials said, which has complicated efforts to set up the force.
But the Trump administration expects Hamas will eventually lose power and give way to a new governing structure in Gaza, they added. Hamas said Sunday it would dissolve its existing government in Gaza once the Palestinian technocratic group was in place.
Throughout the war, Israel has pushed off the question of who will take over the governance of Gaza, with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that international forces would take on the role.
The Israeli government is opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and Netanyahu has said he is opposed to the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, taking power in Gaza.
Write to Robbie Gramer at robbie.gramer@wsj.com, Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com and Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com
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