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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Tony Blair’s US-backed proposal for ending the Gaza war and replacing Hamas |
| 2025-09-19 |
Very long. A taste: [IsraelTimes] After receiving Trump’s blessing, the former British PM has been rallying international stakeholders to form a transitional authority to govern the Strip before it gets handed over to the PAUS President Donald Trump has authorized Tony Blair to rally regional and international stakeholders around the former UK prime minister’s proposal to establish a postwar transitional body to govern the Gaza Strip until it can be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, four sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel. Blair began crafting the proposal in the early months of the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group, envisioning it as a plan for the so-called “day after.” But in recent months, the proposal has also evolved into a plan for effectively ending the war, as the Trump administration has reached the conclusion that agreement from major stakeholders regarding the body that will replace Hamas in Gaza is essential for securing a permanent ceasefire and hostage release deal, a US official and a second source familiar with the matter said. While Blair’s involvement in postwar Gaza planning has been previously revealed, along with his participation in an August 27 White House policy session on the matter, details of his proposal have not been publicized to date. NOT A DISPLACEMENT PLAN The proposal — a developed draft of which was obtained and authenticated by The Times of Israel — envisions the establishment of the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) along with a series of subordinate structures. Previous reporting has linked Blair to efforts aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza or at building a “Trump Riviera” in the Strip, but the former British premier’s actual proposal makes no mention of those ideas and even envisions the establishment of a “Property Rights Preservation Unit,” aimed at ensuring that any voluntary departure of Gazans does not compromise their right to return to the enclave or retain property ownership. “We do not have a plan to move the Gazan population out of Gaza. Gaza is for Gazans,” said a source involved in discussions on the Blair plan. Other plans presented to the Trump administration by parties with ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and by certain individuals involved in the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as well as members of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), did promote the idea of facilitating or encouraging the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza. But Trump — who first gave legitimacy to the concept of “voluntary migration” in February when he announced his plan to take over Gaza and permanently relocate the Strip’s entire population — has since distanced himself from the idea, and during the August 27 White House policy session made clear that he was going with Blair’s plan instead, the US official said. The US official noted that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is apparently unaware of that decision, having declared on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is a potential real estate “bonanza” and that he was in talks with Washington on how to carve up the coastal enclave after the war. THE KUSHNER CONNECTION The August 27 meeting was organized by the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as senior adviser during Trump’s first term and has remained engaged on Middle East issues during his second term, regularly advising US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Like Kushner in his time, Witkoff has been handed a variety of portfolios. The current special envoy has hired limited support staff, though, and Kushner has been helping with the Gaza day-after planning, as it is increasingly seen as critical for securing a war-ending hostage release deal. This spring, Kushner commissioned the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) — which was already engaged on the issue thanks to the former UK prime minister’s ties with Israeli, PA and Arab leaders — to come up with a postwar plan, the US official said. Blair began regular engagement with Trump officials, keeping them abreast of his progress as he met with leaders throughout the region and began ironing out details of his plan, the source familiar with discussions said. NOT ENOUGH PA INVOLVEMENT FOR RAMALLAH, BUT TOO MUCH FOR JERUSALEM The former UK premier met PA President Mahmoud Abbas in July, thanks to Gulf pressure on Ramallah to engage with the initiative, an Arab diplomat said. While the PA has expressed its desire to directly oversee the postwar governing body in Gaza and Blair’s plan falls short of that goal, the source familiar with the discussions said Ramallah has “engaged constructively.” Blair’s proposal envisions the PA undergoing significant reforms and limits Ramallah’s involvement in GITA largely to matters of coordination. Still, the PA is explicitly mentioned throughout the plan, which envisions “the eventual unifying of all the Palestinian territory under the PA.” Though that is a development Netanyahu has fought fiercely to prevent, the source familiar with discussions said that Israel has engaged constructively with Blair’s effort. The Arab diplomat expressed a little more skepticism, however, claiming that Netanyahu has a history of dispatching Dermer to engage on such sensitive matters, then thwarting them before they can materialize in order to keep his coalition, including its far-right flank, intact. |
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