Donald Trump has tasked Tony Blair with rallying support for the former British prime minister’s plan for a post-war Gaza, reports say.
Sources briefed on Blair’s work-in-progress proposal said the guiding principle is “Gaza is for Gazans”, with no displacement of the population, something that Israel’s extreme-right cabinet members have called for.
According to leaks to Israeli media it would focus on building a transitional governing body which would ultimately return power to the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, as part of “a pathway towards a Palestinian state”.
But details of the proposal have yet to be seen by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas or neighbouring countries impacted, such as Jordan.
And the central premise, as explained to The Independent by sources briefed on the document, apparently directly clashes with both Israeli and Hamas visions for the destroyed strip. The Independent understands the report leaked to the Times of Israel is an earlier draft of what is currently on the table.
It proposes creating a new body named the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) which will govern Gaza during a transitional period, eventually handing over control to the PA.
The GITA would be established via a UN Security Council resolution and would be governed by a board of 7–10 members, including at least one qualified Palestinian, a senior UN official, international figures with financial experience, as well as “strong representation of Muslim members”.
Previous reporting had linked Mr Blair’s initiative to the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, leaving the enclave open for international property development.
But sources told The Independent that the Institute would not support or endorse any proposal that involves the transfer of Palestinians.
In the leaks published by The Times, the proposal 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.”
The proposal reportedly also includes the creation of an multinational stabilisation force under international mandate that would aim to ensure border integrity, deter the resurgence of armed groups, protect humanitarian operations, and support – but not replace – local law enforcement in Gaza.
The Independent understands Hamas would not be part of either the transitional or future government of Gaza – which, again, is a key demand of the militant group.
Mr Blair and his team at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change will face an uphill battle getting the extreme-right members of Israel’s cabinet on board.
Israeli’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said “there will be no Palestinian state”. Last week he declared “this place belongs to us” as he signed a controversial plan for the massive expansion of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the occupied West Bank.
On Wednesday, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich told a conference in Tel Aviv that he was already in talks with the US about dividing up Gaza. The Strip is home to over two million people and largely laid to waste by Israel’s unprecedented two-year bombardment.
Mr Smotrich promised a “real estate bonanza” in the 25-mile-long enclave, adding that since Israel “paid a lot” for the war and needs to make a “percentage on the land marketing”.
“We’ve done the demolition… now we need to build,” he said.
The Blair plan is said to be anchored on the dismantling of Hamas, and lays out a transitional administration for Gaza, in which the Palestinian Authority would have a role, albeit a diminished one at the start.
That was roundly rejected by Hamas officials, who told The Independent on Friday they had not seen the proposal.
“No party has the right to dismantle any Palestinian faction. The one that needs to be dismantled is the occupation,” the official said anonymously, adding that Palestinians would not accept a deal they had not voted on or been consulted about.
“We will not allow the Palestinians to have anything dictated to them against their will,” he said.
Omar Awadallah, the deputy foreign minister for the rival PA which is anchored in the West Bank , told The Independent it had yet to see a draft of the Blair proposal.
“We are ready to engage in good faith,” he said. “But Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine. We will not accept any plan that talks about Gaza as a real estate or financial investment for foreign companies where Palestinians are not present.
“The only hope is our people and international law. Any plan that isn’t based on that is null and void.”
Frustrated by the lack of progress with ceasefire talks, President Trump was reportedly briefed back in August on ideas for a post-war Gaza by Mr Blair and Mr Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner – who has penned previous proposals for the region.
So far, the US President has suggested a myriad of sometimes contradictory visions for the besieged enclave, where more than 90 percent of the population has been displaced, famine stalks the population and a UN commission of inquiry has said Israel has committed genocide.
Trump at one point even suggested an American takeover of the strip using US troops as a way to bring an end to the war. In February, he posted an AI-generated video depicting a post-war Gaza as a lavish tourist destination complete with a Trump tower.
In the same month, he also suggested Palestinians could be relocated to one large or multiple smaller sites.
He later walked this back and is said to support Blair’s vision and is even, according to the Times of Israel, tasking him with getting regional stakeholders on board.
Dr Awadallah, the PA’s Deputy Foreign Minister, told The Independent Palestinian authorities had discussed a similar initiative of a “stabilisation mission” earlier this year in a meeting in in New York.
But he said it could only be adopted if it came into being via an official request from the Palestinian government and a UN Security Council resolution.
“The stabilisation mission would aim to support us in governance and stability, not to substitute us,” he said, adding: “We are ready to engage in good faith.”
The Blair proposal would also need to secure the support of nations bordering Israel.
Egypt is reportedly already on high alert, as Mr Netanyahu has pushed ahead with his controversial, widened offensive on Gaza City, with Arabic media reporting that Egyptian armed forces fear the possibility of Palestinians crossing into Sinai.
A Jordanian government source told The Independent that they had not seen a copy of the plan yet – but a key red line was the displacement of Palestinians.
They also said they would reject any “boots on the ground” in Gaza unless formally requested by a Palestinian government body – and that it would be unlikely to involve Jordanian troops.
