Blair would help oversee Gaza transition under Trump plan

Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, has said that under an American initiative to bring an end to the conflict, US President Donald Trump has told Gaza. Sir Tony, the first named participant of a new Board of Peace chaired by Trump, will be charged with temporarily supervising Gaza's administration if Hamas accept the proposal. Later, Trump said, Leaders from other countries on the board will be named. The board is part of a 20-point initiative aimed at resolving Israel and Hamas' nearly two-year war, which also included a process of demilitarising and rebuilding Gaza. The plans, according to Sir Tony, were "the only chance of ending two years of war, misery, and suffering.

According to a Palestinian source familiar with the ceasefire talks, Hamas officials had been given the White House's 20-point plan. A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group was still open to researching any plan that might end the war in Gaza, but that any agreement must safeguard Palestinian interests, guarantee a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and bring the war to an end. Sir Tony, the British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007 and who led the UK into the Iraq war in 2003, has been involved in high-level discUSsions with the US and other groups regarding Gaza's future. Sir Tony's presence, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting,

would raise some eyebrows. However, Streeting also highlighted Sir Tony's vital role in brokering the 1998 Good Friday Deal, which brought an end to Northern Ireland's troubles.

If he can bring those significant skills there, in both diplomacy and state craft,Streeting told the BBC,it will only be a good thing. Since leaving office, he served as Middle East envoy for the Quartet of international powers (the UNited States, EU, RUSsia, and the UNited Nations). He concentrated on bringing economic growth to Palestine and establishing the conditions for a two-state solution. In AugUSt, he attended a White HoUSe meeting with Trump to discUSs the territory's strategic goals, which US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff described as very comprehensive - although no further details were revealed.

The war will immediately end if both sides agreed to it, as the plan was revealed by Trump on Monday evening. All 20 live Israeli hostages as well as the remains of over two dozen people who are thought to have died in less than 72 hours will be returned. After the war began on October 7, 2023, Israel would release 250 life-sentence prisoners as well as 1,700 Gazans detained. According to the scheme, full assistance will be sent to Gaza immediately. A multinational stabilization force will be sent to help with defense and train local police. Israeli forces would withdraw in stages.

Gaza will be governed by a temporary governing body of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee

in charge of delivering the day-to-day operation of public services and municipalities for Gaza's people.

This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and surveillance by a new international transitional body, the 'Board of Peace,' which will be led and chaired by President Donald J. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be among the new Prime Ministers and heads of State to be revealed, along with other members and heads.

Directly, indirectly, or in any manner,

Hamas, the plan states, would have no involvement in governance. If Hamas rejected the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have his

absolute supporttodo what you'd have to do

-- according to Trump. The initiative also leaves the door open to an eventual Palestinian state, but only if the Palestinian Authority implements broad changes. As the UK, Australia, Canada, and France did last week, the president slammed countries for

foolishly" recognising Palestinian statehood.

Sir Tony said in reaction to the news:

President Trump has put down a bold and intelligent strategy that may bring immediate peace to Gaza, the possibility of a better and prosperous future for Israel's civilians,

he said, while not guaranteeing Israel' absolute and enduring stability and the freeing of all hostages.

It gives us the best chance of ending two years of war, misery, and suffering, and I thank President Trump for his leadership, perseverance, and dedication.

In particular, his willingness to chair the Board of Peace over the new Gaza gives a great deal of hope and hope in Gaza's future, as well as the possibility of a larger regional and global alliance to combat the powers of extremism and promote peace and stability between nations.

The proposal, which was revealed on Monday, marks a change from earlier Trump administration proposals. Trump declared in February that the United States will take over the Gaza Strip and create a riviera of the Middle East The plan would have required the forced transfer of Palestinians in the territories and be in breach of international law, which Sir Tony's office has refUSed to endorse. In response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured, the Israeli military launched a protest in Gaza. According to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, at least 66,055 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then. In Gaza City, a UN-backed body recently annoUNced that famine was taking place. A UN commission of inquiry foUNd that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza earlier this month, which Israel vehemently denies.