The Palestinian technocratic committee created to administer areas of Gaza occupied by Israel has announced two days of “highly productive” talks in Cyprus. In a statement posted on X after the secretive gathering concluded, it said discussions involved experts and advisers from the Board of Peace founded and led by United States president Donald Trump. The Board of Peace was set up to oversee the Trump plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza and rebuild the territory. The focus of the talks was to end warfare that has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and “to relieve the sufferings of the Palestinian people in Gaza”, the committee stated. During the recent ceasefire at least 1,053 Palestinians nave been killed and 3,406 have been wounded, Gaza’s official media office has reported.“We reviewed plans for reconstruction, security and governance, and we finalised the institutional arrangements that will ensure the transparency and accountability required by international donors,” the statement said.The technocratic committee is led by engineer Ali Shaath and includes specialists in fields essential for rebuilding Gaza, where 90 per cent of the 2.2 million residents are homeless and dependent on humanitarian aid. The committee reiterated its support for Trump’s plan and said it was ready to assume responsibilities in co-ordination with the Board of Peace, without giving a time frame. [ Israeli companies that make weapons killing children in Gaza set for European growthOpens in new window ]The first phase of this plan providing for a ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners by both sides was implemented. But the second phase, which called for staged Israeli withdrawal and the disarmament of Hamas, has not been enforced. Israel has not only refused to evacuate Gaza but has expanded its occupation zone from 64 per cent to 70 per cent of the Strip. Hamas has rejected negotiations and refused to disarm, saying it needs weapons for self-defence. Both sides have violated the ceasefire.This Cyprus initiative stems from Trump’s 2025 plan to establish a transitional administration in Gaza, which would restore essential services and remove Hamas from governance. A pilot project is expected to be launched within weeks for a Hamas-free area at Tal al-Sultan near Rafah in the south of Gaza. This would create humanitarian compounds for “unarmed” civilians, overseen by an international stabilisation force which would be stationed at an Israeli army base on the Egyptian border. While authorised by a UN Security Council resolution and backed by the Board of Peace, efforts to recruit a 20,000-strong force have stalled although Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Greece and Albania have promised to contribute troops. The force, bearing non-lethal batons, is meant to keep order and train a police force independent of Hamas.