Hamas has issued orders to all its governing agencies to prepare to hand over authority to the proposed upcoming technocratic Palestinian government in Gaza, the terror organization's official media outlet, SAFA, reported on Sunday.
Trump plans to establish the Board of Peace in Gaza, which will oversee a technocratic Palestinian government made up of individuals elected by Palestinians and approved by Israel after a vetting process from a submitted list.
"[Hamas] has issued directives to all government agencies and institutions to be ready to hand over all areas to this body," SAFA quoted Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem as saying.
"There are instructions to facilitate the handover process in order to ensure the success of this body’s work, in line with the higher Palestinian interest and in implementation of the plan that stopped the war in Gaza, which was signed in Sharm el-Sheikh."
The board's composition is expected to be announced this month, possibly as early as this week, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a US official.
Former UN Envoy Nickolay Mladenov to head Board of Peace
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted to former UN Envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who is set to become the director of the Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip, that “Hamas must be disarmed and the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized in accordance with the 20-point plan of US President Donald Trump.”
Netanyahu made these comments during a meeting on Thursday with Mladenov, a day before the former envoy met with Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh in Ramallah on Friday, Reuters reported.
The two men discussed “the situation in the Gaza Strip, ways to move to the second phase, and mechanisms for implementing (Trump’s) plan,” Sheikh said.
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.