Gaza-born Ali Shaath will lead the new 15-member technocratic committee administering the Gaza Strip, it was announced on Wednesday, where he will focus on rebuilding infrastructure in the Palestinian territory.
The committee is expected to meet for the first time on Thursday in Egypt, crossing the Rafah border, a Palestinian source told Agence France-Presse.
Who is Ali Shaath?
Shaath, born in Khan Yunis in 1958, comes from a politically engaged family, whose many prominent members have ties to Fatah, according to the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
The former Palestinian Authority (PA) deputy minister has a background that includes serving in several roles in the administration of the West Bank, most notably as deputy minister of planning and international cooperation and as undersecretary at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
He also chaired the Palestinian Housing Council, headed the Palestinian Ports Authority, and worked as an advisor to the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction.
Having studied in both London and Cairo and earned a PhD in Infrastructure Planning and Urban Development from the UK’s Queen’s University, the civil engineer is widely regarded as a technical expert rather than a political figure.
Shaath has spoken openly about his support for a two-state solution, which would see both a Palestinian and Israeli state, an issue contentious in Palestinian and Israeli circles.
In 2011, while blaming West Bank violence exclusively on Israeli settlers, Shaath told Israel’s Army Radio, "I think our people are quite satisfied not to go back to violence and are going in this fight to continue their peaceful struggle for independence and for real peace and a two-state solution."
In the same interview, he asserted that Jews wishing to access Palestinian citizenship could live in the West Bank and purchase land.
Technocratic committee confirms plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip
On Palestinian Basma Radio, Shaath announced on Wednesday his commitment to rebuilding the Gaza Strip and its infrastructure after Hamas forced the Palestinian territory into two years of war with Israel.
“We are not talking about ‘reconstruction’ but construction anew,” he said. “We will set plans for water, well rehabilitation, water purification, and treated water. Water is the secret to health, education, and hospitals, all of which were destroyed.”
"If I bring bulldozers and push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands, new land, I can win new land for Gaza and at the same time clear the rubble. This won't take more than three years," he told the West Bank radio station.
To begin, Shaath said his committee would take over administering the territory currently run by Israel, before slowly absorbing the land under Hamas control.
Speaking on the future role of the anti-Hamas militias, Shaath stated simply, "Security issues and coordination with armed factions are not among the committee's tasks. The committee is not an army, but rather 15 Palestinian experts in reconstruction, supported by a staff, minds more than weapons."
Who will be on the committee administering the Gaza Strip?
Other members tapped by Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN Middle East envoy who is expected to represent the Board of Peace on the ground, include private-sector and NGO representatives, according to a list of names obtained by Reuters.
A US official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity said invitations were sent out on Wednesday to potential Board of Peace members personally selected by Trump.
Hamas and its rival Fatah group, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have both endorsed the list of technocratic committee members, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said.
It will also include the head of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, Ayed Abu Ramadan, and Omar Shamali, who has worked for the Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel), Palestinian sources said.
The sources said the list would also include Sami Nasman, a retired senior Palestinian Authority security officer and a longtime critic of Hamas. Nasman, a member of Abbas's Fatah movement, is originally from Gaza but has lived in the West Bank since 2007.