Netanyahu’s office: Trump’s Gaza committee contradicts Israel’s policy
The matter will be discussed with Secretary Marco Rubio, the premier stated.
Benjamin Netanyahu meets Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago/ Jim Watson
The Gaza Executive Board led by the U.S. and composed of officials from countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Egypt “runs contrary to [Israel’s] policy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy.”
It added that Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was instructed to discuss the matter with his American counterpart, Marco Rubio—who was named on Friday as a founding member of the Executive Board.
The White House on Friday unveiled three committees that will oversee the activities of the Board of Peace, the initiative led and chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump, tasked with implementing his 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the two-year war.
The Gaza Executive Board includes members such as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi and Egyptian General Intelligence Service Director Maj. Gen. Hassan Rashad.
The Gaza Executive Board will assume the role of assisting the high representative for Gaza, United Arab Emirates-based Bulgarian politician and former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov, as well as the new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), another committee under the Board of Peace that consists of 15 Palestinian technocrats and is led by former Palestinian Authority Deputy Minister of Transportation Ali Sha’ath.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump wrote: “With the support of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, we will secure a COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarization Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel.”
Trump’s comment was made on the backdrop of Witkoff’s announcement on Wednesday that Phase 2 of the Trump administration’s peace plan has commenced.
“Phase 2 establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff said.
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