The peace council’s plan for Gaza: Establish a Palestinian administration in areas outside Hamas control

By Barak Ravid

News in Brief

• The Donald Trump administration’s negotiations with Hamas over disarmament have reached a deadlock.
• The U.S. is advancing a plan to establish a new Palestinian administration in 60% of the Gaza Strip.
• The proposal includes the deployment of Palestinian police forces and an international force into areas currently controlled by the IDF.
• Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior members of the Peace Council and was asked to cooperate with the initiative.
• Why it matters: The plan represents an American effort to bypass Hamas and create an alternative governing structure.

The Peace Council of President Donald Trump is promoting an alternative plan to establish a new administration in the Gaza Strip after negotiations with Hamas over disarmament stalled. The initiative focuses on rebuilding the territory and creating a new governing authority in areas not under Hamas control – roughly 60% of Gaza, which are currently under IDF control.

Shift to an Alternative Plan Without Hamas

• • A senior Peace Council official and additional sources familiar with the matter said the Trump administration and the Peace Council want to begin implementing the plan without Hamas cooperation.

  • The decision followed months of unsuccessful efforts to persuade the organization to disarm.

  • Peace Council Director-General Nickolay Mladenov and American diplomat Aryeh Lightstone presented the framework to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.

  • During the meeting, the sides reportedly reached agreement for the first time on the need to formulate an alternative to the current situation in Gaza.

The Proposal: A Technocratic Government and Policing Force

• According to the plan presented by Nickolay Mladenov during a closed meeting in Washington, a Palestinian technocratic government that has been operating from Cairo in recent months would enter areas of Gaza outside Hamas control.

• A broad reconstruction process would begin in those areas alongside the deployment of an international stabilization force.

• A new Palestinian police force, currently training in Egypt, would also join the reconstruction effort.

• The goal is to stabilize governance in those areas and encourage Palestinians living in Hamas-controlled territory to “vote with their feet” by relocating to the rebuilt zones.

American Pressure on Israel

• The Trump administration and the Peace Council oppose the possibility of renewed fighting raised in Israel, arguing that not all alternatives for a settlement have yet been exhausted.

• In their view, Israel must allow the civilian initiative to proceed as an alternative to continued military conflict.

• During their meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Mladenov and Lightstone delivered what sources described as a clear message regarding the need for coordination.

• Mladenov and Lightstone met with Netanyahu today and conveyed the following message: "We are moving toward an alternative plan, but Israel must cooperate with this effort".