Global & US Headlines
Trump Moves to Activate Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ and Install Technocratic Government
In mid-January 2026 the White House will trigger phase two of the Gaza cease-fire by naming an international “Board of Peace,” led on the ground by ex-UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov, and a Palestinian technocrat committee expected to replace Hamas civil rule.
Focusing Facts
- Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed on 12 Jan 2026 that Mladenov will serve as director-general of the Board of Peace, ahead of a formal U.S. announcement.
- Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem stated on 11 Jan 2026 that all Gaza agencies have orders to prepare for a hand-over to the U.S.-backed technocratic committee.
- Former PA deputy minister Ali Shaath has been tapped to chair the committee, with Washington aiming to unveil the roster by Wed 14 Jan 2026, according to multiple officials cited by the New York Times.
Context
Great-power attempts to impose outside governance in Gaza echo Britain’s 1922 League of Nations Mandate and the short-lived 2005 EU Rafah Monitoring Mission—both schemes collapsed once the local balance of force shifted. Today’s plan fits a century-long pattern: external trusteeships seek to separate Palestinian day-to-day administration from militant power but rarely disarm the dominant faction. The Board-of-Peace model also revives the 1994 Oslo logic of ‘technocrats first, sovereignty later’, yet it arrives after Hamas has survived two years of total war and still retains its weapons. If implemented, the arrangement would test whether international custodianship can outlast a well-entrenched armed movement; success could reopen debates on confederal solutions, while failure may cement a 100-year trend in which external governance experiments—from the Mandate, to the PLO’s 1982 Tunis exile, to the 2007 Gaza takeover—end by reinforcing, not eroding, the power of local militias.
Perspectives
Right-leaning Israeli media
Arutz Sheva Israel News — Trump’s Gaza plan is acceptable only if it leads to Hamas’s complete destruction; the so-called technocratic handover is viewed as a cynical ploy that lets the terror group survive under a new label. Stories echo the Israeli government’s hard-line security agenda, minimize discussion of Palestinian civilian costs, and frame any compromise as dangerous, catering to a domestic audience that favors maximal pressure on Hamas.
Mainstream Western media
The New York Times, Sky News — Washington is about to unveil a Palestinian technocratic committee, a modest step that might chip away at Hamas’s grip but faces huge logistical and humanitarian obstacles amid Gaza’s devastation. Coverage foregrounds U.S. diplomacy and casualty figures yet treats the conflict in managerial terms, often glossing over underlying power imbalances or Israeli accountability, reflecting establishment policy discourse.
Regional outlets critical of Israel
Middle East Eye, Daily Sabah — The ‘Board of Peace’ is another stalling tactic while Israel keeps violating the ceasefire, blocking aid and carrying out deadly strikes that amount to a continuing war on Gaza. Language squarely blames Israel, labels the war ‘genocidal,’ and downplays Hamas’s armed actions, aligning with pro-Palestinian regional sentiment and aiming to galvanize opposition to Israeli and U.S. policies.