Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken part in discussions to lead a post-war transition authority in Gaza, the BBC reports. The proposal, which is said to have the support of the White House, is for Blair to lead a governing body backed by the UN and Gulf states before handing control back to the Palestinians.
In August, he met Donald Trump at the White House to discuss plans for the future of Gaza. The plans could see Blair head a body called the International Transitional Authority for Gaza. He would seek a UN mandate to be the "supreme political and legal authority" of Gaza for five years.
The plan would be modeled on the international administrations that have overseen the transition of East Timor and Kosovo to statehood. The body would initially be based in Egypt, near Gaza's southern border, before moving into Gaza once the Strip had stabilized, along with a multinational force.
After leaving office in 2007, Tony Blair served as the Quartet's (the US, EU, Russia and UN) Middle East envoy. He focused on Palestinian economic development and creating the conditions for a two-state solution.
Reports of discussions about his involvement in a transitional authority for Gaza come after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he was ready to work with Trump and other world leaders to implement a two-state peace plan. Abbas has rejected Hamas's future governing role in Gaza and has called for its disarmament.
In February 2025, Donald Trump unveiled a plan for the US to take "long-term ownership" of Gaza, saying it could be the "Riviera of the Middle East". In March, the US and Israel rejected an Arab plan for post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that would have allowed the 2.1 million Palestinians living there to remain in place. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas welcomed the Arab plan, which would have seen Gaza temporarily administered by a committee of independent experts and international peacekeepers stationed there.
In July, an international conference in New York, led by France and Saudi Arabia, proposed a "transitional administrative committee" for Gaza, operating "under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority". Neither the US nor Israel attended. The so-called New York Declaration was supported by a majority of the UN General Assembly in a resolution earlier this month.
Earlier this month, the UK formally recognised the State of Palestine, along with France, Canada, Australia and several other countries. The UK and others have reiterated their calls for a two-state solution, which would see the creation of an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel. Israel and the US have criticised the move as a "reward for Hamas".