UN names Sigrid Kaag interim special coordinator for Middle East, links role to Gaza humanitarian access

The United Nations on Friday announced the ad interim designation of Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands as special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and personal representative of the secretary-general to the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, concurrent with her existing role as senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.

The designation, the U.N. spokesperson said, is meant to concentrate responsibility for getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza and to support work around a ceasefire and hostage-release arrangements. "She brings a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian, and development affairs as well as in diplomacy," the spokesperson said, summarizing the secretary-general's announcement.

Why this matters: Kaag's combined, temporary portfolio puts a single senior U.N. official nominally in charge of coordinating humanitarian access and reconstruction planning for Gaza at a critical moment in…