Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a Bulgarian diplomat as the ‘designate’ director general for Trump’s ‘Peace Council’.
Published on January 8, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says former UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov will direct a United States-led “peace commission” in Gaza.
Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem on Thursday, citing the Bulgarian diplomat as the “designate” director-general for the proposed body, a key part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza.
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Trump’s Gaza plan led to a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in October, but Israeli forces continue to launch near-daily attacks in the region. Since the first full day of the ceasefire on October 11, 2025, at least 425 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
In a statement on Thursday, Netanyahu’s office said Mladenov “will serve as director general of the ‘peace council’ in the Gaza Strip”. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with Mladenov on Thursday, a spokesman for his office said without elaborating.
Under Trump’s plan to end the war, the proposed peace council would oversee a new Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international security forces, further pushback from Israeli forces and the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Trump is expected to announce the board’s appointment next week, according to the Axios news outlet, citing US officials and sources familiar with the matter.
“Countries expected to join the board include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey,” reports Axios.
Mladenov, a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister, previously served as UN envoy to Iraq before being appointed UN Middle East peace envoy from 2015 to 2020.
As Middle East envoy, Mladenov had a good working relationship with Israel and frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.
