Israel’s Quiet Green Light: How Gaza’s New Technocrats Could Become Jerusalem’s Best Bet 

The next phase in Gaza may be shaped less by militants and generals than by a small group of Gaza‑born technocrats now sitting in Washington, D.C. Their vehicle is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). Whether it becomes an asset or a liability for Israel will depend on whether Jerusalem treats it as a strategic tool—or just another problem to block.

NCAG is not Hamas and not the Ramallah political class. It is a 15‑member civilian team, endorsed by the United States and key Arab states, built to run Gaza’s basic services under international oversight. Most strikingly, the list of members did not appear out of nowhere: Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, agreed on the candidates, and Israel then vetted the list before it was finalized and announced. This is one of the rare Gaza structures that all key players have quietly signed off on—and that Israel has already, in effect, approved.

At the center is Dr. Ali Shaath, the Chief Commissioner. Born in Khan Younis in 1958, he is a civil engineer with a PhD in infrastructure planning from Queen’s University in the UK. He has held senior posts in Palestinian planning and transport ministries and chaired the Palestinian Industrial Estates and Free Zones Authority. He was chosen because he knows how to move complex projects from blueprint to execution and how to speak the language of donors, diplomats, and engineers at the same time.

On health, the key figure is Dr. Ayed (Aed) Yaghi, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza. During the war, he became a visible........

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