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A handout photograph released by Egypt’s State Information Service shows Ali Shaath (C), head of the new Palestinian technocratic committee for administering the Gaza Strip, posing with its members during the inaugural meeting of ‘National Committee for the Administration of Gaza’ (NCAG), in Cairo on Sunday. Credit: AFP/-
A handout photograph released by Egypt’s State Information Service shows Ali Shaath (C), head of the new Palestinian technocratic committee for administering the Gaza Strip, posing with its members during the inaugural meeting of ‘National Committee for the Administration of Gaza’ (NCAG), in Cairo on Sunday. Credit: AFP/-
Palestinian sources say that Israel is refusing to allow members of the Palestinian technocratic committee set to oversee Gaza into the Strip.
According to the sources, committee members planned to enter the Strip this week through the Rafah Crossing and take over its civilian administration by the end of the week.
In the meantime, committee members continue to meet in Cairo, and representatives of mediating countries, particularly Egypt, are working with the United States to approve entry of the technocrats into the Strip by the end of the month.
According to sources involved in the committee members’ discussions in Cairo, the experts do not know when and how they will begin their work in the field, given Israel’s refusal to let them in.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Headquarters for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) did not respond to Haaretz’s inquiry on the matter.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, the Gaza technocrat committee would be tasked with providing “daily public services and municipal services” in the Strip and would operate under the supervision of the Board of Peace.