Nickolay Mladenov to head Gaza peace board

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov will serve as Director-General for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. Mladenov has already met with Netanyahu and with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. On January 9, Nickolay Mladenov will meet in Ramallah with Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to Israeli media reports.

• FT: Nickolay Mladenov expected to head the executive committee for Gaza

Nickolay Mladenov has held a number of senior positions in Bulgaria and in international organizations. From 2013 to 2020, he served as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

According to Trump’s plan, the Board of Peace is to oversee the new technocratic Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international security forces, the further withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov