From the Liveblog of
Friday, January 9, 2026
Palestinian Authority VP meets diplomat expected to represent Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace
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Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh meets with former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who is expected to serve as a top envoy for the supervisory US‑backed Board of Peace in Gaza.
The meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah comes a day after Mladenov held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and met with President Isaac Herzog.
Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat, served as the United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until the end of 2020.
Media reports say he is expected to serve as the representative on the ground in Gaza for the Board of Peace — a transitional body for the war-torn territory that US President Donald Trump would theoretically chair.
In a statement on X, Sheikh says that during his meeting with Mladenov, “an in-depth discussion took place on all political and field developments in the Palestinian territories.”
He adds that there was “a focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip, means of transitioning to the second phase [of the Gaza ceasefire], mechanisms for implementing… Trump’s plan, and UN Security Council Resolution 2803.”
That UN Security Council resolution endorsed the Trump plan in November.
Under Trump’s 20-point plan, Gaza will be governed by a transitional technocratic Palestinian committee under the oversight and supervision of the Board of Peace.
Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace next week.
The Times of Israel Community.