BRUSSELS

Spain on Thursday welcomed the appointment of a national committee to administer the Gaza Strip, describing it as a "positive step" toward the full implementation of the second phase of the peace plan and the "restoration of Palestinian unity" under the Palestinian National Authority.

In a statement, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said the committee, composed of Palestinian figures, could "contribute to stability" in Gaza and help alleviate the "humanitarian catastrophe" by facilitating an increase in the entry of aid into the besieged enclave.

"The appointment of a committee of Palestinian figures to administer the Gaza Strip is a positive step towards the full implementation of the second phase of the peace plan and lays the foundations for the restoration of the unity of the Palestinian State under its National Authority," the statement said.

The ministry reaffirmed Spain's "firm support" for the Palestinian National Authority as its "only partner for peace," stressing its essential role during the transitional phase.

Spain also reiterated its commitment to international efforts aimed at achieving peace in Gaza and expressed appreciation for the role of mediators Qatar, Türkiye and Egypt in advancing the implementation of the peace plan.

The statement added that the peace plan, together with the New York Declaration on the implementation of the two-state solution, represents the path toward "a just and lasting peace" in the region.

On Wednesday, US envoy Steve Witkoff announced that the second phase of the ceasefire agreement had begun as part of President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict.

Witkoff said the second phase would establish a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and launch reconstruction efforts in the enclave, where nearly two years of Israel’s genocidal war have left much of it in ruins.