Two Palestinian men stand in a crater collecting some clothing after the Israeli military shelled a tented camp housing displaced families, in the al-Shati refugee camp, in Gaza City on Jan. 9, 2026. (Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)
CAIRO/WASHINGTON — The 15-member Palestinian transitional committee, launched on Wednesday as part of phase two of Donald Trump's Gaza cease-fire plan, will be headed 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 U.N. Middle East envoy who is expected to represent Trump's "Board of Peace" on the ground, include people from the private sector and NGOs, according to a list of the names obtained by Reuters.
Witkoff did not say how many members the body would include or name them.
Another announcement related to the Board of Peace was also expected to be made at Davos next week, a European diplomat said.
Demilitarization challenge
Along with setting up the Palestinian body, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who announced the start of phase two in a post on X, said the next stage "begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel."
"The U.S. expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences," Witkoff added. Hamas, which has so far not agreed to lay down its weapons, agreed in October to hand over governance to a technocratic committee.
But it has previously said that other matters, including the future of Gaza and Palestinian rights, should be addressed within "an inclusive Palestinian national framework, of which we will be an integral part and to which we will contribute with full responsibility."
Trump moves to phase two despite violence, delays
The first phase of Trump's plan, which included a cease-fire and hostage release deal, has been shaken by issues including Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds of people, a refusal by Hamas to disarm, the remains of one last Israeli hostage still not having been returned and Israeli delays in reopening Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Although the two sides accuse each other of breaching the deal, Trump says he wants to move on to the second phase, a progression that would entail the establishment of the Board of Peace and a yet-to-be-agreed deployment of peacekeeping forces.
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 would now focus on the group's disarmament.
Further Israeli withdrawals within Gaza are tied to disarmament, though Hamas says it will only give up its weapons once there is a Palestinian state.
Hamas and its rival Fatah group, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have both endorsed the list of 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 Palestinian Telecommunication Group PALTEL, Palestinian sources said.
The sources said the list would also include Sami Nasman, a retired senior PA security officer and a long-time critic of Hamas. Nasman, a member of Abbas's Fatah movement, is originally from Gaza but has since 2007 been living in the West Bank.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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