US set to declare 2nd phase of Gaza Peace Plan under pressure from Qatar and Turkey, despite lingering concerns
Move to next phase will proceed despite Israeli security concerns over lack of Hamas disarmament
U.S. President Donald Trump will announce the beginning of the second phase of the Gaza Peace Plan on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday night.
Alongside the announcement of the shift to the next phase, the U.S. president is also expected to name the members of the committee of Palestinian technocrats who will take over the day-to-day administration of the war-torn Gaza Strip under the Board of Peace, chaired by President Trump.
The WSJ reported that the Trump administration assesses that, despite the failure of Hamas to return the body of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, and its refusal to disarm, the fact that the ceasefire has largely held since its announcement in early October suggests that the international community can now shift its focus to rehabilitating the enclave.
Trump is expected to announce the names of the 15 Palestinian technocrats on the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which will reportedly operate under the oversight of former UN envoy for Middle East peace and former Bulgarian foreign minister, Nickolay Mladenov.
Palestinian peace activist Samer Sinijilawi posted a message to social media listing the names of the alleged 15 Palestinian technocrats ahead of the expected announcement.
This is the full list of the Technocratic Government of Gaza, whose first meeting is expected to convene in Cairo soon:
— Samer Sinijlawiسامر السنجلاوي (@SSinijlawi) January 13, 2026
🔸 Dr. Ali Shaath – Head of the Administrative Committee
(former Deputy Minister of Transportation in the Palestinian Authority)
🔸 Ayed Abu Ramadan – Head of…
According to the Emirati Sky News Arabic, citing a Palestinian source, the NCAG committee will be led by former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister of planning, Dr. Ali Shaath. This comes despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that the PA not be involved in the administration of Gaza.
Security will reportedly be handled by Mohammed Basman, an official with the PA's General Intelligence Service, and the NCAG will be subordinate to the PA in matters of education, health, services and civil administration.
Each committee member will sign a document renouncing terrorism, Sky News Arabic stated. The Israeli government had not yet commented on reports about the NCAG's composition or its authority at the time of publication.
Last Thursday, Mladenov met with Netanyahu, who reiterated Israel’s insistence that Hamas must be disarmed, according to the terms of the Trump peace plan. Mladenov is set to be announced as “high representative” for the Gaza Strip, supervising the work of the NCAG, the Financial Times reported.
Israeli officials reportedly oppose shifting to the second phase of the deal, noting the most recent violation of the ceasefire on Tuesday, when six armed Hamas terrorists engaged in a firefight with IDF soldiers in Rafah.
However, despite Israeli concerns over the failure of Hamas to keep its obligations under the Trump peace plan, Qatar and Turkey, signatories on the plan, have been pushing the U.S. to move forward to the next phase.
On Tuesday, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was working "with its mediation partners to expedite reaching the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.” This was a reference to meetings in Cairo on Tuesday with Egyptian officials and members of a Hamas delegation, which traveled there to discuss the move to the second phase.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, also accused Israel of delaying the implementation of the peace plan, claiming that Israel was holding up the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem recently said the group was willing to hand over the management of civilian and political affairs to an independent body to be agreed upon by Palestinian factions. However, the terror organization has also disparaged the Board of Peace and the NCAG committee members called for in the Trump peace plan, arguing that the leadership committee should be chosen by Palestinian factions.
Hamas continues to reject calls to disarm, saying it will only surrender its weapons to a Palestinian state.
At the same time, Turkish media reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was meeting with Saudi officials to coordinate positions ahead of the move to the second phase, expected to be announced on Wednesday. Turkey continues to pressure the United States to allow it to deploy troops to the Gaza International Stabilization Force (ISF), despite Israeli opposition to the move.
On Monday, Fidan attended a virtual meeting of states signatory to the peace plan, and representatives from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, regarding implementation of the plan.
Despite concerns from Israeli officials, Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told Trump that Israel will cooperate on the implementation of the second phase.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Security Cabinet met to discuss the transition to the next phase of the plan, as well as the current situation in Iran.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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