Netanyahu meets with former UN Mideast envoy tapped to represent Board of Peace

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a former UN Mideast envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, has been chosen to serve as the director-general for US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza.

The appointment marks an important step forward for Trump’s Mideast peace plan, which has stalled since an October ceasefire ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem. The announcement included photos of the two men and a short video, without sound, of them shaking hands.

In the announcement, Netanyahu identified Mladenov as the “designated” director-general for the board, which is meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the ceasefire. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington on the title.

President Isaac Herzog also met with Mladenov on Thursday, a spokesman from his office said, without providing further details.

Trump is seeking to name the members of the board next week, with Mladenov serving as their on-the-ground representative.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, said Mladenov is the Trump administration’s choice to be the day-to-day administrator of the Board of Peace on the ground.

Along with the board, Washington plans to have an intermediate executive committee that is more closely involved in oversight, which Trump’s top advisers, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are expected to participate in alongside former UK prime minister Tony Blair. There will also be a Palestinian technocratic committee, which Mladenov will be responsible for liaising with.

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

Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as the UN envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the UN Mideast peace envoy from 2015-2020. During that time, he frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase of the ceasefire halted the fighting and saw the release of the remaining living hostages held by Hamas. The deal has largely held, though it has been marred by mutual accusations of violations. Hamas still has not returned the remains of an Israeli policeman killed in its October 2023 attack that triggered the war, or agreed to disarm, both of which Israel has insisted must occur before transitioning to the truce’s next stage.