Israeli PM meets diplomat expected to serve on Trump’s Gaza peace board

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday met with former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, whom media reports say is expected to represent the US?backed Board of Peace in Gaza.Bulgarian diplomat Mladenov served as the United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until the end of 2020.For the latest updates on the Israel-Palestine conflict, visit our dedicated page.Media reports say he is expected to serve as the representative on the ground in Gaza for the Board of Peace -- a transitional body for the war-battered Palestinian territory which US President Donald Trump would theoretically chair.Netanyahu met with Mladenov in Jerusalem on Thursday and “reiterated and clarified that Hamas must disarm and that the Gaza Strip should be demilitarized in accordance with President Trump’s 20-point plan,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.It added that Mladenov “is slated to serve as Director General of the ‘Peace Council’ in the Gaza