Newspaper: Tony Blair Excluded from Membership of "Peace Council" in Gaza

SadaNews - Sources disclosed on Monday that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been excluded from the list of candidates to join the "Peace Council" announced by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the administration of the Gaza Strip, due to objections from several Arab and Islamic countries, according to the British newspaper "Financial Times."

Blair was the only figure revealed as a potential member of the council when Trump announced his 20-point plan to end the Israeli war on the Palestinian territory in late September, during which the U.S. president described him as a "very good man". Blair, in return, considered the plan "bold and clever" and expressed his willingness to join the council that is set to be chaired personally by Trump.

The newspaper stated that "there are Arab and Islamic countries that expressed their rejection of Blair's participation in the council, partly due to the damage to his reputation in the Middle East as a result of his strong support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, in addition to concerns about the marginalization of Palestinians in the proposed governance structure."

Trump had acknowledged in October the possibility of opposition to Blair's appointment, saying: "I have always liked Tony, but I want to make sure he is an acceptable choice for everyone."

Blair served as a special envoy to the Middle East after leaving the British premiership in 2007, and has been working on plans related to Gaza individually for more than a year, using his "Tony Blair Institute" to formulate his ideas, according to the newspaper.

In this context, Blair collaborated with Jared Kushner, the U.S. president's son-in-law and his envoy to the Middle East during his first term.

On Sunday, Israeli Channel "Kan 11" reported that Netanyahu secretly met with Tony Blair about a week ago, but the Israeli Prime Minister's office did not announce the meeting or issue any statements regarding it.

Blair's office declined to comment to the newspaper, but a close associate confirmed that the former prime minister will not be a member of the "Peace Council," clarifying that the council will include current heads of states, and that there will be a smaller executive council under its umbrella.

Blair is expected to join the executive committee alongside Kushner and Trump's advisor, Steve Witkoff, as well as senior officials from Arab and Western countries, according to someone close to Blair.

Another person familiar with the discussions stated that Blair may hold a position in the future governance structures for Gaza, saying: "It is likely that he will have a different role; the Americans like him, and so do the Israelis."

When announcing the Gaza plan, Trump said that other members of the "Peace Council" will include heads of states, and their names will be revealed in the "coming days," but no appointments have been announced yet.

Trump considered that "the implementation of his plan is going well" and that "the transition to the second phase of the Gaza plan will happen very soon," hinting that the announcement of the council's formation may be imminent.

This council, chaired by Trump, will oversee the interim governance of the Gaza Strip, as well as the funding for reconstruction, paving the way for the eventual transfer of power to a Palestinian authority.

The council will lead an international executive council that manages the operations and a new technocratic Palestinian government comprised of experts not affiliated with the Palestinian "Hamas" or "Fatah" movements, overseeing the administration.