Tony Blair, who was British prime minister during the United States’ invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 on the heels of false claims about ww2 and is regarded by many in the Arab world and the United Kingdom as a “war criminal,” has contributed to the development of “day after” plans for Israel’s war on Gaza.
According to Israeli and Western media reports, the highly divisive figure is mentioned in American President Donald Trump’s 21-point plan, which was presented to Arab and Muslim leaders. It will become the de facto governor-general of the besieged and bombarded enclave after Hamas is forced out.
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Blair’s ultimate role is still undetermined, according to some reports, but the details are clear.
What Blair’s role, what we know about Blair’s role, and what it would mean for everyone involved if everything went smoothly, are presented in this article.
The 21-point plan is what, exactly?
After numerous failed attempts to put an end to the genocidal war in Gaza, Trump and his team have created a new proposal that claims to leave the door open for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, something Israel has repeatedly rejected.
In exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli military jails, the plan calls for the release of all 48 of Gaza’s prisoners to be immediately released.
Hamas would also be forced to disarm, grant amnesty to those who refuse to leave Gaza, and allow others to do so.
Crucially, it states that anyone who leaves “voluntarily” will be able to return to their homes and that no Palestinians will be made to leave their territory.
In practice, this would signal a U-turn for Trump, who publicly criticized ethnic cleansing in February by arguing that the US should “take control” Gaza and permanently relocate its more than two million residents, including half of them children. Additionally, he shared a video of his “Gaza Riviera” vision that was created using artificial intelligence.
The new proposal claims to provide a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, which is a further turning point for the Republican president, who has been reluctant to support the two-state solution in response to a wave of Western nations like the UK, France, and Canada.
The notorious GHF, the humanitarian organization they founded, is believed to be under US and Israeli control. Children among the countless others who have been killed by Israeli soldiers and US mercenaries operating at GHF sites have been shot by Israeli soldiers and US mercenaries.
The GHF and the Gaza Riviera plans have been linked to Israeli figures and a consulting firm in the US called Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In response to a late-july inquiry by the UK parliamentary committee, BCG claimed an investigation it conducted found that some of its US-based employees had evaded risk controls to work on GHF and “post-war reconstruction” for the Palestinian enclave.
On the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Trump’s plan to broker a grand bargain was presented to the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, and Turkiye.
The Israeli military’s plan appears to be provisional at best as it moves forward with a plan to annex the occupied West Bank and continues to systematic destroy and seize Gaza City and starve Palestinians there. Hamas and Israel have not made any official comments on it.
What role does Blair play?
The former UK prime minister, who fervently supported then-US President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, is reportedly involved with his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which claims to “turn bold ideas into reality.”
Apparently, Trump’s plan includes appointing him as head of the newly established Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would oversee Gaza after Hamas was ousted for a number of years.
GITA would seek a UN mandate, which Arab states have already stressed they will need, and would also initially criticize the Palestinian Authority (PA) because Israel continues to say it won’t let the PA assume a leadership position in the future.
Before taking over from GITA, which will oversee the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave, the PA is urged to engage in serious reforms, obtain a revised constitution, and hold elections for a new president and parliament.
A new Palestinian security force would be established in Gaza through the deployment of an international stabilization force primarily drawn from Arab and Muslim nations.
The president of Indonesia, the nation with the highest Muslim population, Prabowo Subianto, declared his willingness to send in thousands of peacekeeping forces and said, “Shalom,” at the end of his speech.
Blair hasn’t made any comments on the new suggestion. His organization called the report a “lie” in January 2024 when Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Blair had met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former head of the Israeli military in Israel in connection with a “voluntary resettlement” plan by Palestinians in Gaza.
What makes this incredibly contentious?
When Blair resigned as prime minister of the UK in 2007, he was immediately appointed as the Quartet’s Middle East envoy, joining the US, European Union, and Russia. His official duties included assisting with the establishment of Palestinian institutions, economic development, and coordination with reforms in governance and security.
He officially left the position at the beginning of 2015, but he has since carried on with projects at his school.
He therefore has some local experience.
However, the majority of people in the area did not enjoy the experience, especially the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed during the conflict or the millions of people whose lives were changed by the region’s invasion.
Blair is still viewed as a “war criminal” by critics in the Middle East and the UK today, and he continues to be so.
Despite the fundamental role that Britain played in the conflict for more than a century, Palestinian commentators claim Blair failed to serve as peace envoy. Some claim that he impeded statehood as a friend of Israel, but that he did little to stop the illegal settlement expansion and settler violence during his time in office.
Blair has remained a divisive figure in British politics domestically, as evidenced by the Iraq invasion’s impact. Some commentators were shocked and skeptical about his involvement in shaping the future of Gaza.
Tony Blair was the obvious choice for Trump and Netanyahu to rule Gaza once it became clear that Satan was completely occupied elsewhere.
Beyond Blair, the 21-point plan has been criticized as a neocolonial takeover of Gaza with no real assurances that a capable Palestinian leadership will be able to rule in the future. This is also condemned online and in some media outlets.
In Israel, the plan has been portrayed in media as a far better option than more extreme ideas that are floating around in Washington and Tel Aviv, particularly those that involve forcing as many Palestinians out of the region as Israel destroys the small infrastructure that supports their basic needs and causes daily civilian deaths.
Source: Aljazeera
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