site.btaNickolay Mladenov, Tipped to Become Gaza Board of Peace Director, Meets Palestinian Vice President

Nickolay Mladenov, who is set to become the Director of the Board of Peace for Gaza, met Friday with Hussein Al-Sheikh, Vice President of the Palestinian Authority and Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Al-Sheikh posted on X.

On Thursday, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the PM conferred with Mladenov, referring to the latter as "prospective Gaza Board of Peace Director". "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, with Nickolay Mladenov, who is set to become the Director of the Gaza Strip Board of Peace. The Prime Minister reiterated that Hamas must be disarmed and the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized in accordance with the 20-point plan of President Trump," Netanyahu's Office said without elaborating.

Under Trump’s plan, the Board of Peace is supposed to supervise the new technocratic Palestinian government of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops, and reconstruction.

In his post on X Friday, Al-Sheikh wrote that he received in his office in Ramallah Mladenov and an accompanying delegation, in the presence of Dr Majdi Al-Khalidi (diplomatic adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas), the Director of the General Intelligence Service Majed Faraj, and the Vice President's Chief of Staff Ayah Al-Muhisin. "During the meeting, an in-depth discussion took place on all political and field developments in the Palestinian territories, with a focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip, means of transitioning to the second phase, mechanisms for implementing the US President Donald Trump's plan, and UN Security Council Resolution 2803.  The meeting also addressed the current situation in the West Bank, including the escalation of settlers' attacks and violence against Palestinian citizens and their properties, the Israeli security, economic, and financial measures, and their dangerous repercussions on the humanitarian and economic conditions, as well as ways to address them in the upcoming phase."

Reuters quoted a US official as saying that US President Donald Trump "is expected to announce the composition of the Board of Peace this month, possibly as early as next week".

Mladenov, 53, is an experienced diplomat who has held a number of high-level positions in Bulgaria and in international organizations. His current position is Director-General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA) in the United Arab Emirates. He was member of Bulgaria's 39th National Assembly (2001–2005) and Member of the European Parliament (2007–2009). He was also Bulgarian Minister of Defence (2009–2010) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2010–2013). In 2013, Mladenov was appointed Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). From 2015 until the end of 2020, he served as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, playing a key role in efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. After leaving his UN post, he joined the Washington Institute for Near East Policy as a visiting fellow.