The Palestinian technocratic body tasked with managing postwar Gaza announced Thursday that it was opening applications for “qualified candidates” seeking to serve in a “transitional police force” to be deployed in the Strip.
The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) said in a statement on X that the recruitment process is open to “qualified candidates for a professional, accountable, transparent, and merit-based transitional police force in Gaza.”
Positions are available for “qualified men and women who wish to serve in the police force” and who want “to contribute to Gaza’s recovery,” the statement added.
Some 2,000 Palestinians signed up for the police force in the first hours after applications went live, Nikolay Mladenov, the Trump-appointed envoy overseeing post-war coordination in Gaza, told the Board of Peace meeting.
Jasper Jeffers, an Army Major General who was appointed commander of a U.N.-authorized multinational peacekeeping force for Gaza, told the meeting that the force’s long-term plan is to train some 12,000 police officers for Gaza.
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Some training programs are already underway to prepare Palestinian police for deployment in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for the territory, which authorizes the deployment of a temporary International Stabilization Force that would support and work alongside the NCAG police force.
While the police force’s precise mandate and role, if any, in disarming Hamas remain vague, the “end state” of Trump’s plan would see “only NCAG-sanctioned personnel” carrying weapons in the Strip, according to details of the plan presented by the Trump administration in Davos last month.
NCAG’s official website said it seeks “highly capable Palestinian men and women committed to maintaining public security, supporting order and stability, strengthening the rule of law.”
Criteria for eligibility include being “a Gaza resident aged 18-35” with “no criminal record” and “good physical fitness.”
Illustrative: Palestinians walk next to shelters amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City, on February 16, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
“With a ceasefire now in place and the Committee about to take on its responsibilities in Gaza, it is time to give an opportunity to those prepared to carry responsibility and uphold the rule of law,” the NCAG said Thursday. “The next phase requires strengthening policing institutions, reinforcing professionalism, and ensuring public trust.”
The NCAG announcement came just as Trump convened the inaugural meeting in Washington of his Board of Peace, to which Israel sent Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
Trump is expected to announce a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the meeting. Establishing security in Gaza is one of many formidable hurdles.
Reuters previously reported that Hamas was seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into the US-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza. The US-backed 20-point plan to end the war, now in its second phase, calls for the governance of Gaza to be handed to NCAG, which is meant to exclude Hamas.
Israel regards all elements of Hamas, including its police, as components of the terrorist organization.
In its statement, NCAG said it respects “the dedication of the police officers who continued to serve their people amidst the bombardment, displacement and exceptionally difficult circumstances.”
It did not say whether the future police recruits could include members of the current Gaza police force, which has served while the strip has been under Hamas control.
NCAG and Hamas did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter.
Hamas police forces deploy in Gaza City on October 11, 2025. (Ali Hassan/ Flash90)
Last week, an Egyptian and a European diplomat told The Times of Israel that neither Egypt nor the European Union will train police officers in Gaza who are affiliated with Hamas.
Both Egypt and the EU have been preparing to expand training of Palestinian police for deployment in Gaza. The European diplomat noted that any officers trained by the EU would be vetted by Israel for any affiliation with the terror group.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem previously told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect.
“We [have] full confidence that it will operate on the basis of benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said, referring to the inclusion of more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel.
Israel has adamantly rejected any Hamas involvement in Gaza’s future.
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