Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair may lead interim administration in Gaza

The White House supports a plan according to which former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would head an interim administration in the Gaza Strip, initially without the direct participation of the Palestinian Authority, writes the newspaper „Guardian“, quoted by BNR, citing Israeli media.

According to the proposal, Tony Blair would head a body called the International Transitional Authority for Gaza, which would have a mandate to be the „supreme political and legal authority“ of Gaza for a period of up to five years.

According to reports in „Haaretz“ and the Times of Israel, the plan is modeled after the administrations that initially oversaw the transition of East Timor and Kosovo to statehood.

The proposal suggests that the administration could initially be based in El-Arish, an Egyptian provincial capital near Gaza's southern border, and eventually move to the territory, accompanied by a UN-approved multinational force composed mostly of Arabs.

The plan envisions "the eventual unification of all Palestinian territory under a Palestinian Authority."

Under the plan, Palestinians would not be forced to leave the territory, as they feared would happen under previous US proposals to develop it as a "Gaza Riviera."

If the plan is approved, Blair would head a secretariat of up to 25 people. and will chair a seven-person council to oversee the executive body governing the territory.