The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) met on Monday with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, preceded by a meeting a few hours earlier with its chief commissioner, Dr Ali Shaath.
Blair stressed that NCAG’s role was to serve as a service provider and to steer clear of politics and disarmament issues in the enclave.
Blair, who was appointed to the founding executive board of the “Board of Peace” by US President Donald Trump, said that he had come to get acquainted and communicate with NCAG directly.
Palestinian sources briefed on the meeting told Middle East Eye that Blair said that while the committee has a tough task ahead, the world supports it and is invested in its success.
“I urge you to stay away from political issues and focus on providing services to the people,” Blair said, according to Palestinian sources.
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Blair emphasised that the committee will have no connection to the issue of the disarmament of armed groups, something that Blair and Shaath agreed on.
Blair said that Shaath repeatedly reminded him of this point: “Don’t involve us in the issue of weapons.”
NCAG is a new “technocratic” committee that will oversee a transition of power in Gaza, as part of the ceasefire to end the Israeli genocide. The committee will consist of 15 Palestinians, led by Shaath, a former Palestinian deputy minister for planning.
Lack of specifics
‘We want you to succeed because this is the test of our credibility before the world’
– Tony Blair, Board of Peace
Committee members raised several questions regarding funding and the opening of border crossings, but Blair could not provide specific answers.
He spoke about Gaza’s civil servants and said that nothing specific had been decided yet regarding the continuity of their work.
Blair added that the committee could work with existing staff and benefit from their skills and experience, but understood that many would not remain in their positions.
Some committee members requested a clear decision from the Palestinian Authority to reinstate the suspended employees in Gaza who are currently unemployed, as they need staff at full capacity, given the wartime conditions.
Blair said that the “International Stabilisation Force” would work to remove Israel from Gaza, stating there should be a single authority in the strip and no presence of armed groups.
He asked the committee to focus primarily on providing services to the residents of Gaza.
“We want you to succeed because this is the test of our credibility before the world,” Blair said, adding that the turning point in the Middle East begins in Gaza.
Blair told the committee that the US-appointed high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, would arrive on Wednesday to meet with them in Cairo. Mladenov oversees the committee and will serve as the key link between the Board of Peace and NCAG.
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Members of NCAG could go to Gaza as early as the middle of next week, according to assessments in the US, sources told MEE.
There has not yet been preparation for a headquarters for the committee in Gaza, but arrangements through the Al-Shurafa Company are underway to provide security for the members.
Sources told MEE that committee members’ 100-day plans are almost ready, with some members mentioning that they will work on existing plans in the ministries.
Officials in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted Shaath, and the Moroccans also contacted him, informing him that they have field hospitals and are ready to supply them with medicines and medical equipment.
Committee members have been complaining that they have been given vague statements and commitments regarding the funding of the committee’s work and activities, as well as the issue of opening border crossings, sources told MEE. They said that nothing specific has been agreed upon yet.
European Union meets with Gaza committee
Shaath also had a meeting with representatives of the European Union, focusing on issues regarding the peace council, courting the Americans, and navigating the relationship with the Palestinian Authority.
Shaath was originally scheduled to meet with representatives of the European Union alone, but Sami Nasman, a retired senior Palestinian Authority official who will oversee security for the committee, accompanied him to the meeting. A representative from the US embassy was also present during the meeting.
The Europeans expressed their support for the committee, but the same issues plagued the meeting regarding funding, the police, and crossings.
The Europeans also failed to give specific answers on several issues and often based their statements on what they heard in the media, sources told MEE.
The Europeans were not confident in the US proposal for World Bank funding to finance the committee, but committed to talking to the Egyptians about training police personnel.
