The White House has listed appointments to the Board of Peace (BoP) on Friday as the Gaza peace deal is set to progress to its next phase.
This international transitional body for Gaza is not the only entity involved in the new phase of the plan. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) has also been announced. This is the Palestinian technocratic committee, which will play a key role in governing Gaza.
In addition to BoP, other entities and advisers will be involved in executing US President Donald Trump’s vision for Gaza. BoP’s executive board is one of these key parts. There is also the Office of the High Representative for Gaza and a Gaza executive board, as well as senior advisors joining BoP.
The parties and their duties
First, there is BoP. Trump mentioned this board as far back as September 2025, when the peace deal was coming into view. Following the deal’s commencement on October 13, the UN also adopted a resolution endorsing the US-backed Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. This is Trump’s 20-point road map for lasting peace, stability, reconstruction, and prosperity in the region.
Trump chairs BoP, while Nickolay Mladenov was chosen as a kind of director-general.
“Mladenov, an executive board member, will serve as the high representative for Gaza. In this capacity, he will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and the NCAG. He will support the board’s oversight of all aspects of Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and development, while ensuring coordination across civilian and security pillars,” the White House said.
Mladenov is a Bulgarian diplomat who was previously a UN envoy to the Middle East.
In addition to Mladenov, whose name was mentioned several days ago, the following men have been chosen for BoP: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio; US envoy Steve Witkoff; Jared Kushner, who played a key role in the Abraham Accords; former UK prime minister Tony Blair, whose name had been floated previously as a key official for post-war Gaza; American businessman Marc Rowan; president of the World Bank Ajay Banga; and Deputy US National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel.
CBC in Canada also said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “has been asked by Trump to join the Board of Peace that will supervise the temporary governance of the Gaza Strip.”
According to reports, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have also been invited to join BoP. If they join, the peace panel would have more international members. At the moment, BoP is predominantly American.
What's the role of Gaza's Board of Peace
BoP needs individuals who have “experience across diplomacy, development, infrastructure, and economic strategy,” the White House said. “Each executive board member will oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance, capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.”
Two Americans will play a key role in helping BoP members with day-to-day operations. Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum have been tapped “as senior advisers to the Board of Peace, charged with leading day-to-day strategy and operations, and translating the board’s mandate and diplomatic priorities into disciplined execution.”
Lightstone played a large part in the Abraham Accords and in the first Trump administration. Along with Kushner, he has returned to manage and assist BoP.
A private equity investor, Gruenbaum has served the US administration in several main ways. In February 2025, the Government Services Administration noted that “Gruenbaum has been appointed as commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, or FAS. With extensive experience at leading firms KKR & Co. and Moelis & Company, he has specialized in complex restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, corporate turnarounds, and governance.”
Role of Gaza Executive Board
To support Mladenov’s Office of the High Representative for Gaza, a Gaza Executive Board (GEB) is also being created. This second board “will help support effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza.”
This GEB entity includes Witkoff, Blair, Rowan, Mladenov, and Kushner, all of whom are also on BoP’s executive board.
The GEB has other international members. These include Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, Egyptian Maj.-Gen. Hassan Rashad, UAE State Minister for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy, Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, and the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister, Sigrid Kaag. In addition, Blair, Rowan, and Mladenov are on the GEB committee.
The goal of all these GEB members will be to “help support effective governance and the delivery of best-in-class services that advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza,” per the White House.
What will the NCAG, ISF do in Gaza?
The local Gaza technocratic government will be called the NCAG and will be led by Dr. Ali Shaath. He was born in Gaza’s Khan Yunis and has played a role in the Palestinian Authority over the years. He has degrees from Ain Shams University and Queen’s University in the UK. He held the first meeting of the NCAG on Thursday in Cairo.
The NCAG membership list includes 15 people, one of whom is a woman.
According to activist Samer Sinijlawi, the list is as follows: Ayed Abu Ramadan will be head of trade and economy; Omar Shamali will focus on telecommunications; Abdul Karim Ashour will handle agriculture; Aed Yaghi will hold the health portfolio.
Moreover, Dr. Jaber al-Daour, the president of the University of Palestine, will run education; Bashir al-Rais will oversee finance; Ali Barhoum will handle water and municipal affairs; Hana Tarzi will head up a women’s affairs portfolio; Arabi Abu Shaaban will focus on land issues; and Mohammad Bseiso will head the judiciary.
Palestinian Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Tawfiq Helles will lead the police, and Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Nasman will hold a security portfolio.
The White House said that “Dr. Shaath brings deep experience in public administration, economic development, and international engagement, and is widely respected for his pragmatic, technocratic leadership and understanding of Gaza’s institutional realities.” It’s unclear if he will remain in Cairo or go to Gaza.
The last piece of the puzzle is the appointment of US Special Operations Command Central commander Maj.-Gen. Jasper Jeffers to lead the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza. Jeffers has previously worked on issues related to the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
“He will lead security operations, support comprehensive demilitarization, and enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials,” the White House said. The ISF is supposed to receive troops or personnel from various countries. It is unclear who will step up to provide personnel.
Meanwhile, Palestinian police are supposed to be backed by Egypt and the EU. In addition, more than 50 countries and organizations are involved with the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, which facilitates humanitarian aid to the enclave.
Objective of Phase II of Trump's Gaza deal
Keeping track of all this is quite complex. Let’s quickly boil it down. The CMCC handles aid entering Gaza and coordinates with the IDF, US Central Command, NGOs, and other stakeholders. The ISF is supposed to be able to enter Gaza with personnel from participating countries.
BoP is the umbrella group that works with advisers, the Office of the High Representative for Gaza, and the Gaza Executive Board to implement the peace deal.
Because it includes top US officials and businesspeople and has overlapping members, it can work closely with countries such as Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE. This is designed to bring together the investors and countries that will oversee reconstruction.
In Gaza, the Palestinian technocratic group NCAG is supposed to be able to function once Hamas is rolled back. This will be the most challenging task of all. Having a framework to at least begin this process is essential. That is why this process has so many people with overlapping roles; it ensures that everything works by bringing the key players together.