(AP) — Israel’s prime minister says a former U.N. Mideast envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, has been chosen to serve as the director-general for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza.

The appointment marks an important step forward for Trump’s Mideast peace plan, which has stalled since an October ceasefire ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem. The announcement included photos of the two men and a short video, without sound, of them shaking hands.

In the announcement, Netanyahu identified Mladenov as the “designated” director-general for the board, which is meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the cease-fire. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington.

Trump is expected to name the members of the board later this month, with Mladenov serving as their on-the-ground representative.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, confirmed Mladenov is the Trump administration’s choice to be the day-to-day administrator of the Board of Peace on the ground.

Under Trump’s plan, the board is supposed to supervise a new technocratic Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and reconstruction.

Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as the U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015-2020. During that time, he frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase of the ceasefire halted the fighting and saw an exchange of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel. The deal has largely held, though it has been marred by mutual accusations of violations. Hamas still has not returned the remains of one hostage – an Israeli policeman killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza, meanwhile, have killed over 400 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Israel says the strikes have been in response to violations of the deal, but Palestinian health officials say scores of civilians have been among the dead.