The first meeting of the Palestinian committee taking interim charge of Gaza's day-to-day affairs has been delayed by disagreements over the appointment of two members, sources familiar with the process told The National on Friday.
Issues are specifically with Sami Nasman, a former intelligence officer with the Palestinian Authority, and Rami Halas, who was set to be in charge of religious affairs and endowments, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear what the points of contention are with these candidates.
Members of the committee, which is part of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for the war-battered enclave, had been expected to meet on Thursday in Egypt to review its mandate, briefs and priorities. But some members remain stuck in Gaza, unable to travel abroad for “security and logistical reasons”, the sources said, causing further delays.
The meeting is to be attended by representatives of the US, Turkey and Egypt, which have acted as mediators in the peace process.
The committee is expected to be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy planning minister in the PA. The other committee members will be in charge of portfolios such as finance, water, local councils, the judiciary, security, health and agriculture.
Gaza's new governing body will not include Hamas members, and has to be vetted by the US and Israel. Mr Trump's administration says the 20-point plan has entered its second phase, even though some conditions of the first stage have not been met.
Members of a Board of Peace to oversee the second phase, which Mr Trump is expected to chair, have not yet been finalised. Neither has the list of nations that will contribute to an international stabilisation force to keep the peace in Gaza and train Palestinian security forces.
Some states view putting boots on the ground as a de facto occupation, or fear they may end up finding themselves in direct conflict with Hamas.
A US official said Mr Trump might announce members of the board at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in Switzerland, next week.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is understood to have accepted a seat on the board. Israel has said Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, director general of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, will serve as director general of the board.
