Washington Seeks Palestinian Technocrats for Postwar Gaza Administration

The United States is quietly working to identify Palestinians who could serve in a transitional technocratic government to run Gaza after the war, a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday.

The unnamed adviser said Washington’s top priorities remain deconfliction, humanitarian aid expansion, recovery of hostages’ remains, and Gaza’s demilitarization. Still, he noted that individuals have already expressed interest in joining a new governing body, recognizing that “Hamas is weaker than [it has] ever been.”

Many of the candidates under consideration come from the Palestinian diaspora. “Certain Palestinians have said living in the West Bank under the PA (Palestinian Authority) rule has been like living under the mafia, and a lot of the people who wanted to have a good life just had to leave because it’s not a functional place in that regard. And obviously Gaza was run by a terrorist organization,” the adviser remarked in unusually harsh criticism of the PA — just days after Trump was photographed warmly embracing PA President Mahmoud Abbas at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

“There’s a lot of incredibly successful Palestinians in the diaspora who really want to see the suffering of their people end, and they’ve been reaching out to try to be a part of [the technocratic government],” the adviser continued. He said these figures see “a new alternative created that’s not the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas,” which could finally give Palestinians “leadership that allows [them] to break free of the poor situations they’ve been in.”

Oversight of the future Gaza administration will rest with the Trump-chaired “Board of Peace,” which will determine the final composition of the transitional government. That board, however, has not yet been formed. “It could be very successful if you get the right leaders who are doing it for the right reasons and trying to create a new system, compared to the old patronage and corrupt systems that have failed,” the adviser said.

Asked whether the effort would lead toward Palestinian statehood, the adviser sidestepped the issue. “The goal with this is less to get stuck in these old word games of statehood, sovereignty, governance,” he said. “Let’s just make this place functional. President Trump is about pragmatism and about results. We’re trying to stay away from the old diplomatic parlor games that have not achieved a better life for the Palestinian people.”

“President Trump believes that the way you get real peace is addressing the issues that matter, which are security and economic opportunity… The goal is [to have] everyone happy to live side by side and benefiting from each other. Then there are many different things that you can call it that could be agreed upon in the future,” the adviser added.

Diplomatic sources suggest thesl Palestinian statehood clause in Trump’s 20 point plan were included to satisfy Arab allies who insisted the plan show movement toward a two-state solution, warning that ignoring Palestinian political aspirations could trigger new unrest. But Trump himself downplayed the notion, telling reporters Wednesday that his proposal “doesn’t get into whether there will be a two-state solution.”

“A lot of people like the one-state solution. Some people like the two-state solution. So we’ll have to see. I haven’t commented on that… At some point, I’d decide what I think is right, but I’d be in coordination with other states,” the president said.

Meanwhile, the administration has clarified that Gazans will not be forced to leave during reconstruction. The same senior adviser said that although living conditions remain dire, “no one is forcing any Gazans to leave.” He added.

In a related development, the adviser revealed that “many countries,” including Indonesia, have offered to join the planned International Stabilization Force that would replace the IDF in securing Gaza during the transition. “Indonesia comes to mind. Many of the different Arab and Muslim countries. The Emirates are in conversations with us. Certainly Egypt is. I think the Qataris are talking to us. Azerbaijan,” he said.

To date, Indonesia is the only country to publicly offer troops — proposing 20,000 soldiers under a UN mandate, which Trump’s plan does not include. Arab officials have meanwhile told The Times of Israel that the UAE and Qatar are not planning to send troops but may contribute funding or training support.