The new body included, in particular, officials from Turkey and Qatar – countries that criticized Israel's actions during the Gaza war. The executive council will work under the Peace Council, which will be chaired by US President Donald Trump, and will effectively oversee the post-war management of the sector.
The media writes that the executive council included: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Tawadi, Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, UAE Minister of International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimi, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, CEO of the American investment company Apollo Global Management Mark Rowan, Israeli-Cypriot businessman Yakir Gabay, former UN humanitarian aid coordinator Sigrid Kaag and former UN special envoy for the Middle East Nikolai Mladenov, who heads the council as high representative for Gaza.
Netanyahu instructed Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to express Israel's protest over the composition of the council to his American counterpart Marco Rubio. The media noted that Saar was almost not involved in direct negotiations with the United States, which took place through the prime minister’s office.
In addition to Netanyahu, the composition of the executive council was criticized by the far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. Ben-Gvir said Gaza does not need a “governing council,” but the destruction of the Hamas terrorist group and support for mass voluntary emigration, according to Trump's original plan.
