As reported by Christina Bouri of the Council on Foreign Relations, a twenty-point Gaza peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump is now entering a phase focused on the enclave’s future governance. According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the plan was enabled by a late-2025 UN Security Council resolution and follows an initial phase aimed at halting hostilities, restarting aid, and returning hostages.
CFR reports that a core tenet of the plan requires Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza. The White House has outlined three main bodies that will directly or indirectly govern Gaza during a postwar transition: the Board of Peace, the Gaza Executive Board, and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, also known as the Technocratic Committee.
The Board of Peace is described as a U.S.-led international transitional body responsible for overseeing governance and security in Gaza. Trump chairs its founding Executive Board, which includes seven additional members and oversees the broader Gaza Executive Board composed of leaders and foreign ministers from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Day-to-day governance, CFR reports, will fall to the Technocratic Committee, made up of fifteen Palestinian technocrats supervised by the Board of Peace, twelve of whom have been confirmed so far. This committee is intended to manage rule of law, basic services such as health care and aid, security, and reconstruction while broader reforms to the Palestinian Authority proceed.
How is the technocratic committee expected to govern Gaza?
According to CFR, Trump’s plan calls for reforms to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which currently administers parts of the West Bank, and envisions an eventual transition of power in Gaza to that body. Until then, the Technocratic Committee will effectively replace Hamas in the daily administration of the territory.
CFR reports that once fully appointed, the Technocratic Committee will implement governance on the ground, including maintaining security, facilitating essential supplies such as food and clean water, and rebuilding infrastructure. Its formation reflects an effort to separate day-to-day administration from armed factions while keeping oversight in the hands of an international body.
The article notes that some proposed committee leaders previously served in the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas, and many have roots in Gaza. The committee held its first meeting on January 15 in Cairo, Egypt, underscoring the role of regional states in supporting the transition.
CFR lists confirmed members and their portfolios, including chief commissioner and sectoral heads for finance, health, education, security, housing, and social protection. These appointments are presented as technocratic, with backgrounds in public administration, development, finance, law, medicine, and infrastructure.
Supporting details on key technocratic figures
According to CFR, Ali Shaath will serve as the committee’s chief commissioner and as acting energy and transport commissioner. Shaath previously worked as the Palestinian Authority’s assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and held a senior role at the Ministry of Transport.
Ayed Awni Abu-Ramadan, former administrative director of the Palestine Islamic Bank in Gaza and chair of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, has been named commissioner of economy, trade, and industry. CFR reports that Adnan Salem Abuwarda, a supreme court judge appointed in 2019, will lead the judiciary in Gaza.
For internal security, Sami Nasman is designated commissioner of the interior and internal security. Born in a refugee camp in Gaza City in 1967, he previously served as a major general for the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence service.
CFR notes that Abdel Karim Ahmed Ashour will be commissioner of agriculture, drawing on experience directing Reef Finance and the Agricultural Development Association in the West Bank, as well as serving on the board of the NGO Development Center. Jabr Ibrahim El-Daour, a former president of the University of Palestine in Gaza City, will oversee education.
Ali Shehda Barhoum, a former director general of the municipality of Rafah with experience in municipal service projects and waste management in Rafah and Khan Younis, will be commissioner of water and municipal affairs. Hanaa Hanna Nicola Tarazi, a Gaza-based lawyer and vice chair of the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, is the only confirmed woman on the committee and will serve as commissioner for social protection.
CFR reports that Dr. Aed Mahmoud Yaghi, a urologist and director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza, will be commissioner of health. He also heads the National Society for Rehabilitation in Gaza and the Gaza Ministry of Health’s advisory council.
Dr. Bashir Rayyes, a board member of the Palestine Monetary Authority and former head of the National Office for Gaza Reconstruction after the 2014 war, will serve as commissioner of finance. Osama Al-Sa’dawi, born in a Rafah refugee camp and a former PA minister of state for entrepreneurship and empowerment and general manager of the Palestinian Housing Council in Gaza, will oversee land and housing.
Omar Shamali, an executive with nearly three decades of experience in telecommunications and a leader at Palestine Telecommunications Group during and after Hamas’s initial attack in October 2023, will be commissioner of communications and digital services. CFR notes that media reports have mentioned additional potential nominees, but these names remain unconfirmed.
What questions and reactions surround Gaza’s new governance?
CFR reports that significant questions remain about the scope and mandate of the Board of Peace. Trump has suggested the body could serve as a broader international mediator, potentially operating beyond Gaza in other global conflict zones.
According to CFR, some allies have expressed concern that the Board of Peace could rival the United Nations, though Trump has since indicated the two bodies would work together rather than compete directly. The Board of Peace’s charter does not explicitly mention Gaza, which CFR notes leaves the door open for an expanded geographic role.
Major parties to the conflict—Israel, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority—did not attend the board’s charter-signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum. CFR reports that their absence has raised questions about how fully they will cooperate with the new governance framework.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office expressed concern about Turkish participation on the Gaza Executive Board, according to CFR. Since the October 2025 cease-fire, the Israeli government has sought to limit Turkish political influence in Gaza.
CFR notes that, despite these objections, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari senior diplomat Ali al-Thawadi joined the Gaza Executive Board. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority also did not participate in the Davos signing ceremony.
What are the broader international dynamics and next steps?
CFR reports that more than sixty countries were invited to join the Board of Peace, including China and Russia, but only about twenty-seven had accepted as of February 19. Many European Union member states have declined or ruled out participation.
According to CFR, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the board appeared incompatible with Italy’s constitution. Other EU states and the Vatican expressed concern that the board could dilute the UN’s influence in crisis situations.
CFR further notes that Trump has floated the idea of requiring a one-billion-dollar payment for permanent board membership, a proposal that could prove challenging for some current signatories. This financial requirement is another factor shaping the composition and reach of the Board of Peace.
In February 2026, the Board of Peace convened its first meeting in Washington, where Trump announced that nine nations had collectively pledged about seven billion dollars for Gaza reconstruction. CFR reports that the United States committed an additional ten billion dollars, though Trump did not specify the source of these U.S. funds.
CFR states that Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Morocco have committed troops to the International Stabilization Force, a multinational force authorized by the UN to oversee Gaza’s demilitarization. The force is led by U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers III, while Egypt and Jordan have agreed to train Gaza’s police.
The governance structure emerging for Gaza, as described by CFR, combines an internationally led Board of Peace, a multinational stabilization force, and a Palestinian Technocratic Committee tasked with daily administration and reconstruction. Key uncertainties remain over how Israel, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority will engage with this framework and how widely the Board of Peace will be embraced internationally.
In sum, CFR’s reporting indicates that Gaza’s postwar governance is expected to rest on a layered arrangement involving international oversight, regional military and police support, and Palestinian technocratic leadership. The extent to which this model can function effectively will depend on funding commitments, political buy-in from local and regional actors, and the evolving mandate of the Board of Peace.
