Gaza Board of Peace official presses Israel to honor roadmap commitments

ABU DHABI (MNTV) – Israel must carry out its commitments under the US-backed Gaza roadmap before the peace process can move forward, a senior official overseeing the initiative said Monday.

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said that while some progress had been made over the past year, Palestinians in the enclave had yet to see the meaningful changes promised under the agreement.

“We are still at the point at which we need to make sure that what has been agreed is going to be implemented and is going to change significantly the lives of the people in Gaza,” Mladenov said at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.

“Unfortunately, we’re not there yet.”

He said discussions were continuing with Israel over implementation of its obligations, including a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces as Hamas disarms and reconstruction begins.

The roadmap published by the Board of Peace in July calls for Israel to complete its remaining commitments, including ending military operations, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions are required to cease military activity and place weapons under Palestinian control as Israeli forces withdraw.

Months of talks over Hamas weapons

Mladenov said negotiations with Hamas over its weapons had lasted seven months and described the talks as “very intense” and “very difficult.”

He credited Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar with playing a central role in those negotiations, while also acknowledging support from the UAE and other regional governments.

Under the roadmap, Hamas and other armed groups are expected to place their weapons under the authority of the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza rather than surrender them directly to Israel.

The process is supposed to proceed alongside a phased Israeli withdrawal, with international monitors verifying implementation.

However, the sequencing of those steps has remained a major point of contention.

Israel has demanded that Hamas fully disarm before completing its withdrawal, while Hamas has insisted that Israel first halt military operations, withdraw troops and allow greater humanitarian access.

Palestinians still living in ‘terrible conditions’

Mladenov said Gaza’s civilian population continued to endure severe hardship despite the diplomatic process.

People in the enclave were living in “terrible conditions,” he said, warning that they could not be expected to endure another winter under the same circumstances.

The humanitarian crisis continues even though a US-brokered ceasefire has formally been in place since October 2025. Israeli forces have continued carrying out military operations in Gaza, while both Israel and Hamas accuse the other of violating the agreement. More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, according to figures cited by Reuters.

Mladenov said the parties now faced three broad choices: allow the present situation to continue, return to wider Israeli military operations and reoccupation, or implement the Board of Peace roadmap.

He described the final option as the only reasonable path.

That would involve Hamas weapons being decommissioned through an agreed process, Israeli forces withdrawing and Gaza’s reconstruction proceeding with international and regional support.

Two-state solution at risk

Mladenov warned that continued failure to implement the agreement could make a future Palestinian state increasingly unattainable.

“The only way that we can build back to that is if we have transitional governance, if we have decommissioning of weapons, if we have withdrawal in Gaza,” he said.

The roadmap states that its longer-term objective includes Palestinian self-determination and statehood, alongside reconstruction and the restoration of Palestinian governance in Gaza.

Those ambitions face growing political obstacles inside Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from far-right members of his coalition who oppose Palestinian statehood and have instead advocated continued Israeli control of Gaza.

With Israeli elections approaching on Oct. 27, senior far-right figures have renewed calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has promoted a plan for mass “voluntary emigration,” while other officials have also supported measures aimed at encouraging Palestinians to leave the enclave. Palestinians and rights advocates have warned that such proposals amount to plans for forced displacement.

Asked whether a future Israeli government could abandon commitments made under the current process, Mladenov acknowledged that election campaigns often produce political posturing and “knee-jerk reactions.”

But he argued that both societies ultimately needed a political settlement.

“Neither Palestinians nor Israelis are going anywhere. Nobody is going to leave their homes,” he said.

Board tasked with Gaza transition

The Board of Peace was established in January as part of President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza and is chaired by Trump.

Its role includes overseeing Gaza’s transition, reconstruction, security arrangements and the transfer of civilian administration to a Palestinian technocratic body.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was established to assume responsibility for public services and civilian governance.

The July roadmap envisages a broader transition involving the committee, an international stabilization force, the decommissioning of Palestinian armed groups, phased Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction.

But implementation remains uncertain, particularly because Israel has not fully accepted the sequencing set out in the plan and key members of its government remain openly opposed to major elements of the proposed post-war settlement.

For Mladenov, the immediate issue is less about drafting another agreement than enforcing the one already reached.

Without implementation, he warned, Gaza risks remaining trapped between continued military confrontation, prolonged humanitarian suffering and an increasingly distant prospect of a political solution.