Why is the divisive Tony Blair now touted for post-Gaza war interim role?

Tony Blair, who was British premier curate during the 2003 United States-led penetration and concern of Iraq based connected mendacious claims astir weapons of wide destruction, and is regarded by galore successful the Arab satellite and successful the United Kingdom arsenic a “war criminal”, has helped make “day after” plans for Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

The highly divisive fig is envisaged successful United States President Donald Trump’s 21-point program presented to Arab and Muslim leaders to go the de facto governor-general of the besieged and bombarded enclave aft Hamas is pushed out, according to Israeli and Western media reports.

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Some reports accidental Blair’s eventual relation is not finalised, but the outlines are clear.

Here’s a look astatine Trump’s plan, what we cognize astir Blair’s role, and what it would mean for everyone progressive if it were to each spell ahead.

What’s the 21-point plan?

After galore attempts that person not ended the genocidal warfare connected Gaza, Trump and his squad person travel up with a caller connection that besides purports to permission the doorway unfastened for the aboriginal enactment of a sovereign Palestinian authorities – thing Israel has repeatedly rejected.

The program wants each 48 captives inactive held successful Gaza to beryllium released immediately, successful speech for allowing introduction of humanitarian aid, freezing conflict lines, and the merchandise of a fig of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli subject jails.

The program would besides spot Hamas disarm, connection fighters who renounce unit amnesty, and let others who garbage to permission Gaza.

Crucially, it specifies that nary Palestinians volition beryllium forced to permission their territory, and says anyone who leaves “voluntarily” volition beryllium allowed to instrumentality to their homes.

If existent successful practice, this would awesome a U-turn for Trump, who shocked the satellite successful February erstwhile helium openly touted taste cleansing by musing astir the US “taking over” Gaza and permanently moving retired its much than 2 cardinal residents, astir fractional of them children. He besides released a video generated done artificial quality to showcase his imaginativeness for the alleged “Gaza Riviera”.

The caller connection prides itself connected offering a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, marking different departure arsenic the Republican president has been reluctant to endorse the two-state solution amid a surge of Western nations doing so, specified arsenic the UK, France and Canada.

The US and Israel reportedly privation to support the notorious GHF, the humanitarian organisation they founded to propulsion speech the United Nations and different planetary assistance agencies delivering assistance to Palestinians connected the ground. Many hundreds of famine-stricken people, including children, person been shot by Israeli soldiers and US mercenaries operating astatine GHF sites.

Israeli figures and a US consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), person been linked with the GHF and the Gaza Riviera plans. In a effect to a UK parliamentary committee enquiry published successful precocious July, BCG said an probe it commissioned recovered that immoderate of its US-based unit sidestepped its hazard controls to bash enactment related to GHF and to “post-war reconstruction” for the Palestinian enclave.

Trump’s program to broker a expansive bargain has been presented to the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and Turkiye connected the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) successful New York.

But arsenic the Israeli subject continues to systematically destruct and prehend Gaza City and starve Palestinians successful Gaza portion advancing with a imaginativeness to annex the occupied West Bank, the program appears to beryllium provisional astatine best. Neither Israel nor Hamas has officially commented connected it.

Where does Blair acceptable in?

The erstwhile UK premier minister, who fervently backed then-US President George W Bush successful invading Iraq, is reportedly progressive done his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which claims it wants to “turn bold ideas into reality”.

Trump’s program reportedly considers appointing him arsenic the caput of a recently established entity called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would administer Gaza aft Hamas is ousted for a modulation play of up to respective years.

GITA would question a UN mandate, thing Arab states person emphasised they volition require, and would besides initially sideline the Palestinian Authority (PA) – arsenic Israel continues to accidental it volition not let the PA to person a aboriginal governance role.

The PA is urged to prosecute successful superior reforms, get a revised constitution and clasp elections for a caller president and parliament earlier taking implicit from GITA, which volition oversee the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.

An planetary stabilisation force, mostly drawn from Arab and Muslim countries, would beryllium deployed to supply information and bid a caller Palestinian information unit successful Gaza.

Prabowo Subianto, the president of Indonesia, the state with the largest Muslim population, told the UNGA helium was acceptable to nonstop successful thousands of peacekeeping forces, and ended his code with “shalom”.

A demonstrator wearing a disguise to impersonate Tony Blair holds bundles of fake wealth during a protestation earlier the merchandise of the John Chilcot report, which recovered the UK joined the Iraq penetration connected flawed quality and without exhausting peaceful options, astatine the Queen Elizabeth II Centre successful London, July 6, 2016 [Peter Nicholls/Reuters]

Blair has not commented connected the caller proposal. In January 2024, erstwhile Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Blair met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and erstwhile warfare furniture curate Benny Gantz successful Israel successful narration to a “voluntary resettlement” program of Palestinians successful Gaza, his instauration said the study was a “lie”.

Why is this hugely controversial?

After serving arsenic the UK premier curate for 10 years, erstwhile Blair resigned successful 2007, helium was instantly appointed arsenic the Middle East envoy for the Quartet – the UN, US, European Union, and Russia. His authoritative remit was to enactment Palestinian institution-building, economical development, and to liaise connected governance and information reforms.

He formally stepped down from the relation successful mid-2015, but has continued projects done his institution.

So, helium has immoderate acquisition successful the region.

However, the acquisition was not a blessed 1 for astir radical successful the region, particularly the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who were killed during the war, oregon the millions who were marked by the invasion that changed the look of the region.

To this day, critics successful the Middle East and the UK marque Blair a “war criminal”, and helium remains a toxic fig successful immoderate quarters.

Quartet Representative to the Middle East Tony Blair visits a UN-run schoolhouse sheltering Palestinians whose houses were destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day warfare successful 2014, successful Gaza City, February 15, 2015 [Suhaib Salem/Reuters]

Palestinian commentators person besides said Blair failed them arsenic bid envoy contempt the quintessential British role successful the struggle stretching implicit a century. They person argued that portion helium oversaw economical projects during his tenure, helium did small to halt amerciable Israeli colony enlargement and settler violence, oregon beforehand Palestinian statehood, with immoderate adjacent accusing him of impeding statehood arsenic a person of Israel.

Blair continues to beryllium a polarising fig successful home British authorities arsenic well, arsenic his popularity vastly plummeted pursuing the Iraq invasion. His engagement successful determining the aboriginal of Gaza has been met with daze and scepticism among immoderate commentators.

Once it was wide that Satan was afloat occupied elsewhere Tony Blair was the evident prime to govern Gaza for Trump and Netanyahu.

— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) September 26, 2025

But beyond Blair, the 21-point program has been criticised online and successful immoderate media arsenic a neocolonial takeover of Gaza with nary existent guarantees that a competent Palestinian enactment volition beryllium allowed to govern successful the future.

The program has been touted successful Israeli media arsenic a comparatively amended enactment compared with much utmost ideas floating astir successful Washington and Tel Aviv, peculiarly revolving astir forcing arsenic galore Palestinians retired of the enclave arsenic Israel destroys the small infrastructure near successful Gaza that supports their means of basal living, arsenic it kills dozens of civilians daily.

For its part, Israel has emphasised it volition clasp “security control” implicit Gaza careless of immoderate aboriginal plans.