Sally Ibrahim
The New Arab / January 23, 2026
For many Palestinians, it is not simply who Ali Shaath is, but whether he represents a genuine attempt to rebuild Gaza or another externally managed disaster.
Gaza – In a rare Palestinian moment where reconstruction plans collide with political engineering and security calculations, Ali Shaath has emerged as the figure tasked with managing the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of its most devastating war.
His appointment as head of a Palestinian technocratic committee is not merely administrative; it is deeply embedded in a complex web of international arrangements, largely backed by the United States, aimed at reshaping Gaza’s governance after more than two years of war that left the territory shattered.
For many Palestinians, the question is not simply who Shaath is, but what he will represent: a genuine attempt to rebuild Gaza or another externally managed experiment that treats devastation as a logistical problem rather than a political one?
A technocrat from Gaza
Born in 1958 in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Shaath grew up amid occupation and upheaval before leaving the Strip to study civil engineering in Cairo.
He later moved to the United Kingdom, earning a PhD in infrastructure engineering from Queen’s University, Belfast in 1989.
His academic background in planning and reconstruction would later define his career, positioning him as a technocrat largely detached from factional politics.
Shaath went on to hold senior posts within the Palestinian Authority, including undersecretary and deputy minister at the Ministry of Planning, as well as roles in the Ministries of Transport and Communications.
He oversaw industrial zones and infrastructure projects in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza, cultivating a reputation as a “quiet administrator” rather than a political operator.
Although he spent many years in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, those backing his appointment have presented him as a “son of Gaza”—someone who understands the coastal enclave’s social fabric and geographic constraints at a moment of unprecedented collapse.
Shaath now heads a 15-member technocratic committee tasked with administering Gaza under international supervision, within the framework of what has been dubbed the “Peace Council”—a transitional body intended to oversee the Strip during the next phase.
The committee’s formation follows a controversial plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end the war, a proposal that many Palestinians view as detached from the political roots of the conflict and overly focused on crisis management.
In his first media appearances a few days ago, Shaath outlined an ambitious reconstruction vision. He suggested that removing an estimated 68 million tonnes of rubble and unexploded ordnance could be achieved within three years, partly by repurposing debris for land reclamation along the Mediterranean coast – a proposal that immediately raised eyebrows.
Shaath outlined a three-phase plan: immediate humanitarian relief and temporary housing for the displaced; rehabilitation of essential infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity; and, finally, the reconstruction of homes and public institutions.
He declared that Gaza “can return to a better state than it was seven years ago,” insisting this would be “building from scratch, not patching what was destroyed.”
However, UN assessments paint a far grimmer picture. A 2024 report warned that rebuilding Gaza’s destroyed housing stock alone could extend until 2040, even under favourable conditions.
Meanwhile, the gulf between vision and reality remains stark. There is still no clear mechanism for importing heavy machinery under Israeli restrictions, which Tel Aviv justifies on security grounds.
While Israel has reportedly withdrawn from parts of the Strip, it retains control over large swathes of land where entire neighbourhoods have been flattened.
Managing, not solving the crisis
Gaza-based Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim believes Shaath’s appointment reflects an international approach focused on containment rather than resolution.
“Prioritising technocrats and civil administration ignores the fact that Gaza’s tragedy is fundamentally political,” Ibrahim told The New Arab.
“Reconstruction cannot be separated from ending the occupation and lifting the siege. Any talk of rapid rebuilding clashes with realities on the ground and Israeli restrictions,” he said.
He added that the committee “will face a test of popular legitimacy from day one, because people want tangible results, not theoretical timelines.”
Another Gaza-based writer and analyst, Ahed Ferwana, echoed this concern, describing the move as “an international bet on project management rather than a national liberation framework.”
“Shaath may organise infrastructure projects efficiently, but the real problem is that decisions are not in his hands. Without Palestinian control over crossings and resources, the committee risks becoming an administrative facade for an imposed reality,” he told TNA.
But Ramallah-based political analyst Esmat Mansour warned that public perception could make or break the experiment.
“There is genuine fear the technocratic committee will be seen as a political alternative imposed from outside,” he said. “If it fails to engage seriously with the local community and factions, it could quickly lose public trust, regardless of intentions.”
Mansour noted that Hamas’s initial support may provide a temporary margin of manoeuvre, but could evaporate if reconstruction stalls under political or security pressure.
The Hamas factor
Politically, the committee has received backing from Hamas, which has been holding talks with other Palestinian factions in Cairo about Gaza’s future.
Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson of Hamas, said that his movement is ready to hand over control to the technocrat and is willing to facilitate the handover.
Yet Shaath himself has been clear about the limits of his mandate. “We are not an army,” he said. “We are Palestinian minds, not weapons.”
Security arrangements and armed factions remain outside the committee’s scope, underscoring its constrained authority.
Away from conference rooms and policy briefings, Gaza’s streets tell a different story, one marked by cautious hope, deep scepticism and pervasive anxiety.
“We’ve heard about committees since the war began. I don’t care who leads them. I just want a home that protects my children,” Abu Ahmed al-Bahis (54), displaced from al-Tuffah neighbourhood and now living in a tent near Gaza’s port, told TNA.
Another displaced father, Al-Kilani, said, “If Shaath manages to bring in building materials and people feel even a small change, then maybe we’ll believe. Until then, we stay cautious.”
For others, scepticism runs deeper. Um Mohammed Abu Zeid, a teacher from Deir al-Balah whose home was destroyed, told TNA. “Every phase is called a new beginning, but our lives only get harder. I fear this committee is just another way of managing the crisis, not ending it.”
“Reconstruction isn’t just cement and steel,” she added. “It’s about safety, and that doesn’t exist as long as the fear of another war remains.”
Among younger Palestinians in Gaza, uncertainty dominates.
Mahmoud Nassar (26), a civil engineering graduate from Jabalia refugee camp, questioned where his generation fits into the vision.
“This is supposed to be a rebuilding phase, but we don’t know our role,” he said. “Will we be partners in a real future, or just temporary labour until the crossings close again?”
Ali Shaath steps into Gaza’s ruins without sovereign power, operating under intense international scrutiny and within a political landscape scarred by war and fragmentation.
Supporters see in him a steady technocrat capable of managing chaos. Many Palestinians, however, see yet another experiment whose success depends on forces far beyond Gaza’s control.
Whether Shaath’s committee becomes a genuine opening toward recovery or another chapter in a long history of unfulfilled promises will be decided not by plans on paper, but by what changes, if anything, on the ground.
Sally Ibrahim is The New Arab’s correspondent from Gaza
