"Seven months since the ceasefire, the door to Gaza's future is still closed," Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the Board of Peace, said following his meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"This is not what was promised to the Palestinians, and it is not what they deserve," Mladenov added. "Furthermore, this does not provide Israel with the security it needs to move forward – as the Israeli public also wants."
According to Mladenov, "There is a ceasefire, and it holds, but it is not perfect. It is far from perfect. There are violations every day, some of which are very serious and significant. And let’s be honest about these violations and what they actually mean: the meaning is that civilians are still being killed. Families are living in fear. Delays and restrictions continue to affect humanitarian access and the daily lives of many Palestinians."
Mladenov later addressed the chaotic situation in the Gaza Strip: "We are asking the political leadership currently managing Gaza to step aside. This is required by the Security Council decision and the 20-point plan. For those who respect the law and carry out their work, there is room in the new structure. For those who cannot accept this framework, the plan offers safe passage to third-world countries."
He further emphasized, "We are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement. As a political movement or as a political party that renounces armed activity, it can participate in Palestinian national elections. This roadmap preserves this possibility."
Mladenov noted that "what is not negotiable is the existence of armed factions or militias with their own command and control structures, with their own weapon caches or tunnel networks, alongside the transition to Palestinian Authority rule – this is not a political demand. It is a necessary condition of the process."
Gaza reconstruction already in advanced stage
Regarding Gaza's reconstruction process, Mladenov said, "Reconstruction planning is already in an advanced stage. We are working sector by sector. We are publishing plans, coordinating with donors, and are ready to start in earnest once conditions allow. In fact, our forecasts are that tens of thousands of jobs in the public sector will be created during the first phase."
When asked when the technocratic government (the National Committee, in official terms) would enter Gaza, Mladenov replied, "This is not an announcement of coercion. I want to be very clear. It is exactly the opposite of coercion. It offers the Palestinians in Gaza, for the first time in a long time, a real choice. The National Committee is ready to enter, govern, and protect wherever coercion is removed, and the conditions are right."