Palestine: Politics

Domestic

The month was dominated by the implementation of a major political transition in Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement. Hamas announced its readiness to dissolve its government and hand administrative control to a new, independent Palestinian technocratic committee. This committee, formed through talks in Cairo with Egyptian support, held its first meetings. Concurrently, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized in Ramallah, and his administration took steps perceived as aimed at excluding Hamas from future local elections. In the West Bank, attention turned to ongoing Israeli settlement activity, with new construction tenders issued and warnings that specific projects threaten to permanently fragment the territory.

International

International diplomacy centered on a new initiative proposed by Trump: the 'Board of Peace', launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and transitional governance. The plan, which Trump suggested could replace the UN, invited numerous countries to join and contribute funds. While nations including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Pakistan accepted, key European states like France and Norway declined. The proposal sparked significant tension with Israel, as Prime Minister Netanyahu objected strongly to the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar on the oversight panel and reiterated that Gaza's reconstruction is conditional on its disarmament. A key practical issue was the partial, conditional reopening of the Rafah border crossing, with Israel linking it to the return of hostages' bodies and Egypt enforcing strict reciprocity on movement. The EU expressed conditional willingness to participate, but only if the board's mandate is narrowly focused on Gaza.