A Western diplomat and an Arab official, both unnamed, told AP in Doha on Dec. 6 that international body tasked with governing the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire may be announced by the end of the year. It will be led by Trump and will include about a dozen other Middle Eastern and Western leaders, they said.
Also to be announced is a committee of Palestinian technocrats who will run the day-to-day administration of post-war Gaza, the two said. The Western diplomat, who spoke to the AP over the phone from Cairo, said the announcement about this will likely happen when Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet later in December.
The Arab official said that “extensive talks” will start immediately with Hamas and Israel on the details of the second phase, which he expects to be tough. Those talks are expected to tackle the issue of disarming Hamas, a step the militant group has not yet agreed to. The plan also calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from the roughly half of the Gaza Strip that they still control as the international force deploys.
