Former UK Premier Tony Blair reportedly in talks to lead Gaza transitional authority

LONDON

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is reportedly in discussions to head a post-war transitional authority in Gaza, according to media reports on Friday.

The reports in the Economist and BBC said that the proposed Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) would be backed by the UN and Gulf nations, with Blair overseeing governance before returning control to the Palestinians.

The authority would seek a UN mandate to serve as Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for five years.

The plan would be modelled on the international administrations that oversaw the transitions to statehood in East Timor and Kosovo, initially operating from Egypt near Gaza’s southern border before moving into the Strip once conditions stabilize, supported by a multinational force.

Blair’s office reportedly said he would not support any plan that displaced Gaza’s residents.

The authority would initially operate from Egypt before entering Gaza alongside a multinational force once conditions stabilize.

In August, Blair attended a White House meeting with US President Trump to discuss plans for the territory, described by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as “very comprehensive.”

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.

Meanwhile, European recognition of Palestinian statehood accelerated, breaking with Israel’s narrative of indefinite occupation.

Six more countries – Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, France, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino – officially recognized the state of Palestine on Monday during a high-level summit in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly.

The move came just a day after the UK, Canada, Australia, and Portugal announced recognition, raising the total number of countries that have recognized Palestine to 159 out of 193 UN member states since the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat proclaimed the establishment of the state in Algiers in 1988.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 65,500 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children.