WASHINGTON — The US has approved the establishment of a coordination committee between the Palestinian Authority and the US President Donald Trump’s  Board of Peace, a US official and a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

The committee will formalize ties between the PA and the Board of Peace, which is overseeing the postwar reconstruction of Gaza. PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa is representing Ramallah on the panel and Gaza High Representative Nickolay Mladenov is representing the Board of Peace, the two officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The creation of the panel is something of a compromise for the PA, which has been seeking to gain membership on the Board of Peace, particularly in light of Israel’s representation on the body made up of world leaders and headed by Trump.

Ramallah is hoping the new committee will be officially announced before the Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting on Thursday in Washington, the Palestinian official said, adding that the PA will still continue to seek representation on the Board of Peace or its advisory Gaza Executive Board.

The Palestinian official credited lobbying from Arab countries on the Board of Peace for Washington’s acquiescence to the establishment of the coordination committee.

The PA has already been in contact with Mladenov and other members of the Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board, so the practical significance of the new committee is minimal. However, the PA is seeking to gain influence over decision-making regarding Gaza’s reconstruction, given that Ramallah’s assistance will be needed in order for it to succeed.

While a separate committee of Palestinian technocrats has been tasked with replacing Hamas in governing Gaza, that panel will likely have to rely on civil servants and police forces who are currently on the PA payroll.

Moreover, the PA has access to land registration documents in Gaza, which will be needed in order to compensate property owners if their land is used for reconstruction projects being advanced by the Board of Peace.

The Palestinian official clarified that Ramallah is eager to assist the Board of Peace as well as the technocratic committee dubbed the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). However, Ramallah wants to have a formal role in the process to ensure that the initiative leads to the eventual reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under one political entity.

Israel and the US, which controls the Board of Peace, have opposed a more high-profile role for the PA in Gaza, arguing that Ramallah first needs to undergo significant reforms.

Israel lashed out last month after the NCAG updated its logo to one nearly identical to the PA.

The PA insists it is engaged in comprehensive reforms, including scheduling elections and scrapping its welfare program, which critics have dubbed “pay-to-slay” because it awarded stipends to security prisoners based on the length of their sentence.

But Ramallah says its efforts to improve efficiency are significantly hampered by Israel’s withholding of over $4 billion in Palestinian tax revenues, in violation of the Oslo Accords.

The withholding of those funds, which make up the majority of the PA’s revenue, has left Ramallah unable to pay the full salaries of public sector employees for the past year, further moving the PA to the brink of collapse.

While PA President Mahmoud Abbas was not invited to Thursday’s Board of Peace inaugural meeting, NCAG chief commissioner Ali Shaath is slated to attend, the US official said.

Asked for comment, the US State Department did not deny that Washington had given a green light for the new communication channel between the PA and the Board of Peace.

“The Board of Peace is pursuing all 20 points of President Trump’s plan, which speaks for itself. We’re not going to comment on diplomatic conversations,” said a statement to The Times of Israel attributed to a Trump administration official.

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