Board of Peace envoy: Technocrats can’t enter Gaza if ceasefire violations persist

The Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov says the Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with governing Gaza in place of Hamas cannot enter the Strip if violations of the ceasefire continue.

“We need to make sure that what is happening now with the violations of the ceasefire stops,” Mladenov says without placing blame on either side.

“If you put the committee tomorrow in Gaza and the violations of the ceasefire continue the way they are now. We’re only embarrassing the committee and ultimately making it ineffective,” he adds while speaking on a panel at the Munich Security Conference.

Israel has carried out daily strikes on whom it says are terror operatives in Gaza, but the death toll since the October ceasefire is nearly 600 and includes scores of women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

Mladenov warns against the “cementing” of the status quo in the Strip under which the war-torn enclave is divided between Israeli and Hamas controlled side.

In rare public comments since taking on the central role in the post-war management of Gaza last month, Mladenov says that the way to prevent this from unfolding is for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) to enter the Strip and begin operating in place of Hamas.