Tony Blair in discussions to run transitional Gaza authority

Former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has been involved in discussions about leading a post-war transitional authority in Gaza, the BBC understands.

The proposal, which is said to have backing from the White House, would see Blair lead a governing authority supported by the UN and Gulf nations – before handing control back to Palestinians.

His office said he would not support any proposal that displaced the people of Gaza.

Sir Tony, who took the UK into the Iraq War in 2003, has been part of high-level planning talks with the US and other parties about the future of Gaza.

In August, he joined a White House meeting with Trump to discuss plans for the territory, which US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff described as “very comprehensive” – though little else was disclosed about the meeting.

The plans could see Blair head a body named the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita), according to reports in the Economist and Israeli media. It would seek a UN mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for five years.

The plan would be modelled on the international administrations that oversaw East Timor and Kosovo’s transitions to statehood. It would initially be based in Egypt, near Gaza’s southern border, before entering Gaza once the Strip is stable, alongside a multinational force.

As PM, Blair took the decision to commit British forces to the 2003 Iraq War that was heavily criticised in the official inquiry into the conflict, which found he had acted on flawed intelligence without certainty about the production of weapons of mass destruction there.

After leaving office in 2007, Blair served as Middle East envoy for the Quartet of international powers (the US, EU, Russia and the UN). He focused on bringing economic development to Palestine and creating the conditions for a two state-solution.

Reports of discussions about his involvement in a transitional authority for Gaza come after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that he was ready to work with Trump and other world leaders to implement a two-state peace plan.

Abbas stressed his rejection of a future governing role for Hamas in Gaza and demanded it disarm.

Throughout the conflict, varying proposals for the future of Gaza have been tabled by multiple parties.

In February, Donald Trump floated plans – which since appear to have been dropped – for the US to take “a long-term ownership position” over Gaza, saying it could be the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

The idea would have involved the forced displacement of Palestinians in the territory and be in violation of international law. The US and Israel said it would involve “voluntary” emigration.

In March, the US and Israel rejected an Arab plan for the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that would allow the 2.1 million Palestinians living there to stay in place. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas welcomed the Arab plan, which called for Gaza to be governed temporarily by a committee of independent experts and for international peacekeepers to be deployed there.

In July, a French and Saudi-led international conference in New York proposed a “transitional administrative committee” for Gaza which would operate “under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority”. Neither the US nor Israel attended. The so-called New York Declaration was backed by a majority of the UN General Assembly in a resolution earlier this month.

Earlier this week, the UK formally recognised the State of Palestine, alongside France, Canada, Australia, and several other countries.

The UK and others reiterated calls for a two-state solution, which would see the creation of an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel.

Israel and the US criticised the move as a “reward for Hamas”.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,502 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. A UN commission of inquiry has said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denies.