Palestinian committee stuck waiting

The Palestinian committee picked to help run Gaza is still waiting in Cairo, months after its launch, with members saying they have been left idle and unable to enter the strip. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The committee’s head, Ali Shaath, formally announced its members on January 18, 2026 and said the body would start work from Cairo before relocating to Gaza for an “urgent relief plan.” Anadolu Agency reported 11 named members plus Shaath, covering portfolios including health, housing, finance, education and municipalities. (aa.com.tr) The body is part of stage two of the October 2025 Gaza framework backed by the United Nations Security Council in November 2025. A UK Parliament briefing says the committee is meant to handle day-to-day administration in Gaza under the supervision of the Board of Peace while Hamas gives up control. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) That leaves a practical gap. The Council on Foreign Relations says the technocratic committee is supposed to replace Hamas in daily governance, including aid delivery, health care, rule of law, security coordination and basic infrastructure repair. (cfr.org) The delay also collides with the reconstruction plan Arab states endorsed in Cairo on March 4, 2025. Egypt’s plan says a Gaza Administration Committee of technocrats should manage governance for six months, restore water and electricity, clear debris and set up temporary housing for 1.2 million people. (egyptembassy.net) That plan put the early recovery phase at $3 billion over six months, followed by a five-year, $50 billion reconstruction program. It also called for a transition back to the Palestinian Authority after the technocratic phase. (egyptembassy.net) The political blockage is tied to disarmament and control. The UK Parliament briefing says Israeli forces still control just over half of Gaza, Hamas retains its weapons, and aid and civilian access remain constrained, including at Rafah, which reopened in February only for a limited number of people rather than goods. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) Hamas has publicly backed the idea of a Palestinian technocratic committee, but disarmament remains the sticking point in the wider plan. Reporting in January described the committee as part of talks over Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal, while later coverage in April said Hamas had rejected a disarmament clause. (aljazeera.com) (longwarjournal.org) Humanitarian pressure has not eased while the governance plan stalls. The United Nations human rights office said on April 10 that Palestinians across Gaza were still unsafe six months after the ceasefire announcement, with Israeli attacks continuing routinely. (ohchr.org) So Gaza has a committee on paper, named members and a reconstruction blueprint, but no transfer of authority on the ground. Until that changes, the question is not who was appointed to run civil life in Gaza, but who can actually do it. (cfr.org)