Trump’s Gaza peace plan officially entering Phase II, Witkoff announces

"Phase II establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel," he added.

"Phase I delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages, and the remains of twenty-seven of the twenty-eight deceased hostages. We are deeply grateful to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar for their indispensable mediation efforts that made all progress to date possible," Witkoff commented.

The Palestinian body will have 15 members and will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, according to a joint statement by mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.

Other members tapped by Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN Middle East envoy who is expected to represent the Board of Peace on the ground, include private-sector and NGO representatives, according to a list of names obtained by Reuters.

Witkoff did not say how many members the body would include or name them.

Another announcement regarding the Board of Peace was expected to be made at Davos next week, a European diplomat said.

Shaath said in a radio interview that the committee would focus first on providing urgent relief for Gaza, including the provision of housing for displaced Palestinians, many of whom are living in makeshift tent shelters amid the rubble.

"If I bring bulldozers and push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands, new land, I can win new land for Gaza and at the same time clear the rubble. This won't take more than three years," Shaath told a West Bank radio station.

Witkoff said that phase two of Trump's plan also will begin "the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel."

Hamas, which refuses to lay down its weapons, agreed in October to hand over governance to the technocratic committee. It remains unclear how Hamas, which has regrouped since a fragile ceasefire began in October, will be disarmed as required by the plan.

In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority welcomed Trump's effort to move forward with the Gaza phased plan, as stated in a X post by Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh, and voiced support for the committee.

Sheikh said institutions in Gaza should be linked to those run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, "upholding the principle of one system, one law and one legitimate weapon."

Hamas leaders and other Palestinian factions are in Cairo for talks on the second phase, the group said, where members of the technocratic Palestinian committee were expected to meet with Mladenov.

Egyptian sources said talks with Hamas will now focus on the group's disarmament.

Further Israeli withdrawals within Gaza are tied to disarmament, though Hamas has said it will give up its weapons only once there is a Palestinian state.

Hamas and its rival Fatah group, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have both endorsed the list of technocratic committee members, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said.

It will also include the head of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, Ayed Abu Ramadan, and Omar Shamali, who has worked for the Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel), Palestinian sources said.

The sources said the list would also include Sami Nasman, a retired senior Palestinian Authority security officer and a longtime critic of Hamas. Nasman, a member of Abbas's Fatah movement, is originally from Gaza but has lived in the West Bank since 2007.

Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, has expressed hope that Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff's announcement of the launch of phase two of Trump's 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza will help consolidate the calm, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Wednesday.

Talik Gvili, mother of slain hostage St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called her and confirmed that the return of her son's remains from Gaza is "our top priority."

Gvili is the final hostage whose remains are still being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terror groups.

The move establishing a technocratic committee to govern the strip, and "any other action," would not affect efforts to return Gvili's remains, Talik said.

"The statement on Phase II focuses on the demand of disarming Hamas terrorists and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. There will be no IDF withdrawal until they are disarmed, no construction, and no reconstruction," she said.

The Rafah Border Crossing has not yet been reopened because "we insist on [bringing Ran's remains home]," she noted.

Efforts to return his remains are "being carried out in the intelligence and operational echelons, as well as via talks with mediators," she elaborated.

"We have clear demands from Hamas because we passed on intelligence information, and things we have requested have not yet happened. Therefore, anything that is expected to happen will not affect the efforts and the demand to return Ran," she affirmed.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, earlier on Wednesday, denounced the expectation that the Trump administration will proceed into Phase II, due to Gvili's remains still being held in Gaza.

"This morning, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, together with the Gvili family, is calling on Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to honor his commitment, as he promised the family in private conversations, not to proceed to Phase II until Ran is brought home," the forum wrote on their official social media.

"Moving to Phase II now, while efforts to secure Ran's return have not been exhausted, would mean giving up the most significant source of leverage and could effectively condemn Ran to permanent disappearance," the forum said.

"Until Ran is returned, the State of Israel will not be able to close its deepest open wound or begin the process of recovery and healing that it so desperately needs. Phase II cannot be implemented while Ran remains in captivity," the forum insisted.

"The Palestinian Presidency welcomes" Trump's efforts, including "the establishment of the Board of Peace and its executive bodies," Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on X/Twitter.

"The Presidency announces its support for the formation of the Palestinian Committee for the Administration of Gaza during this transitional phase," he added.

"The Presidency has maintained close coordination with the Special Envoy for Peace Mr Steve Witkoff, Mr Jared Kushner and the US teams and Mr Nickolay Mladenov in support of the United States’ efforts to consolidate the ceasefire and to move to the second phase of its implementation, including reconstruction," Sheikh said.

"The Palestinian Presidency reiterates the importance of linking the institutions of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and not creating any administrative, legal, or security arrangements that would entrench duplication, division, separation, or fragmentation, with upholding the principle of one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon," he commented.

"The Presidency further stresses the importance of working with the United States and relevant partners to take decisive steps in the West Bank in parallel with the transitional phase in Gaza. This includes ensuring a halt to unilateral actions that violate international law, preventing settlement expansion plans and settler terrorism, releasing withheld Palestinian funds, preventing displacement and annexation, and preclude any undermining of the Palestinian National Authority and the two-State solution," he continued.

"The Presidency call upon all Palestinian factions, national institutions, civil society organizations, and all segments of Palestinian society to assume their national and historical responsibilities, and to act in a spirit of partnership and highest sense of responsibility in order to ensure the success of this critical transitional phase," he concluded.

During the meeting, Zini stated that Shin Bet approved the names of 15 members of the proposed technocratic government to oversee the Gaza Strip per Phase II of Trump's plan. Zini affirmed that none of the members were affiliated with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, N12 noted.

Ben-Gvir disagreed, noting that one was a deputy minister under then-PA president Yasser Arafat, according to the report.

Zini argued that he met all the criteria set, but Ben-Gvir refuted this.

N12 approached both Zini and Ben-Gvir's offices, and neither denied the details in the report.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty affirmed that an agreement over the members forming the technocratic government had been reached during a press conference on Wednesday.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a joint statement with Qatar and Turkish partners praising the formation of the technocratic government.

This is a "significant development that will contribute to strengthening efforts aimed at consolidating stability and improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," the statement read.

We "hope that the formation of the committee will pave the way for the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip," the statement continued.

This "will contribute to consolidating the truce and preventing renewed escalation," it affirmed.

The three countries, referring to themselves as "the mediators," stressed "the necessity for all parties to fully implement the agreement in order to achieve a sustainable peace and create the appropriate conditions for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, thus fulfilling the aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people for security, stability, and a dignified life."

The statement also confirmed that Ali Shaath would lead the technocratic government. This is the former PA minister whose history reportedly caused the aforementioned argument between Zini and Ben-Gvir.

The committee is expected to hold its first meeting at the US Embassy in Cairo on Thursday, and is due to hold future meetings at a temporary headquarters in Egypt, while five offices will be established in the Gaza Strip to coordinate with the committee, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported on Wednesday.