President Donald Trump is allowing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to spearhead efforts to organize a peace plan and post-conflict governing authority in Gaza.
Blair — who has spent his post-premiership career as an international policy spokesman with a special interest in the Middle East — has spent months working on a “day after” plan to establish governance in the Palestinian territory following a peace agreement.
That plan has now evolved into a more comprehensive proposal for both ending the conflict and transitioning the region into a sovereign Palestinian state.
Sources familiar with the project told the Times of Israel that Trump has authorized Blair to bring together stakeholders for the purpose of establishing a transitional body and paving the way for an end to the conflict.
Blair inserted himself into the Gaza peace negotiations earlier this year and was initially associated with Trump’s “Riviera of the Middle East” and “Freedom Zone” plans for the strip. He was previously present at policy meetings with President Donald Trump and in communication with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, the plan now being proposed by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change departs significantly from those previously outlined by the White House, especially in terms of future Palestinian residence in the strip.
The “day after” plan, the fine details of which are not yet publicly known, would not allow for the permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
Gazan residents would be allowed to flee the area temporarily without forfeiting the right to their land at a future date, with the idea of a “Property Rights Preservation Unit” being floated.
The proposed administration, referred to as the Gaza International Transitional Authority, would be a transnational collaboration that ultimately turns power over to the Palestinian Authority following the attainment of unspecified goals, according to the Telegraph.
A sovereign Palestinian state would be the initiative’s ultimate goal — another departure from the White House’s position and one that is likely to frustrate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blair served as a Middle East peace envoy for eight years following his resignation as prime minister in 2007.
His work included overseeing cooperation among the Middle East Quartet — an alliance between the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia — seeking to mediate long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The United Kingdom plans to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state at the United Nations General Assembly next week, alongside several other major U.S. allies such as France and Belgium.
Current U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked about this decision at a press conference alongside Trump in Chequers on Thursday.
“We absolutely agree on the need for peace and a road map because the situation in Gaza is intolerable,” Starmer said. “The hostages have been held for a very, very long time, and they must be freed. And we need aid to get into Gaza at speed.”
STARMER SIDESTEPS PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD QUESTIONS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TRUMP
The prime minister said recognition of a Palestinian state would “hopefully [take] us from the appalling situation we’re in now to the outcome of a safe and secure Israel, which we do not have, and a viable Palestinian state.”
Trump said he had “disagreement with the prime minister on that score” and prioritized getting the “hostages released now.”
