Visit to Cairo, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Amman, and Istanbul, 4-13 May 2026

The purpose of this nine-day visit was to assess the current situation across the region and to evaluate the ongoing challenges facing our work in mediation and conflict resolution. Oliver and Jordan conducted an intensive programme of meetings with government ministers, diplomatic missions, civil society partners, and senior officials across five cities.

We began in Cairo, where we met with our partners at the SHAF Centre to discuss Egyptian perspectives on Gaza and the wider region. We also held discussions with key members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the newly formed body of politically independent Palestinian technocrats tasked with managing civil administration in the Gaza Strip. Those discussions underscored the urgency of breaking the current political impasse, given the intolerable conditions that families in Gaza continue to endure.

Meeting with Dr Bashir Rayyes, Finance Commissioner, and Dr Jabr Ibrahim El-Daour, Education Commissioner, of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), Cairo.

In Ramallah, we met with the Palestinian Authority Minister of Justice and the Minister of Education and Higher Education to review the programmes we are organising for Gazan teachers and lawyers currently in exile in Cairo. These initiatives are developed in close partnership with the relevant ministries.

Meeting with H.E. Mr Sharhabeel Al Zaeem, Palestinian Authority Minister of Justice.

Meeting with H.E. Mr Amjad Barham, Palestinian Authority Minister of Education and Higher Education.

We also met with Dr Sabri Saidam, Deputy Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee, to discuss the internal situation in the West Bank and the preparations for the Eighth General Conference of Fatah.

A further meeting at the Civil- Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat provided detailed briefings on the situation in Gaza, with particular focus on the work of the Board of Peace. It presented a sobering picture: reconstruction planning remains at an impasse, held back by unresolved questions around Hamas disarmament, with severe consequences for the civilian population.

In Jerusalem, we met with staff of the Chief Rabbi's office for an extended discussion on the growing number of ultra-Orthodox individuals who are being encouraged by the Temple Mount movement to disregard the Status Quo Agreement, which has governed access to the holy sites since the mid-nineteenth century, as well as rabbinical rulings prohibiting entry to Haram Al-Sharif. Our interlocutors expressed serious concern about the potential for escalating violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank should this trend continue unchecked. We also used the visit to reconnect with UK diplomatic missions, both in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem.

In Amman, we met with Mo'ath Al-Zo'ubi, Director of Policy at the Royal Court, for a substantive discussion on the situation as viewed from a Jordanian perspective.

Meeting with Mr. Mo'ath Al-Zo'ubi, Director of Policy at the Royal Court, Amman.

We also held a meeting with HM Ambassador Philip Hall, the UK Ambassador to Jordan.

We concluded the visit in Istanbul, where we met with a range of officials for discussions focused primarily on the future of Gaza and the prospects for a sustainable political settlement.