Israel Tony Blair takes on role for transition in Gaza
US President Donald Trump has appointed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to a committee tasked with implementing the goals of Trump's "peace council" in the Gaza Strip. According to the White House, the founding executive board also includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, World Bank President Ajay Banga, US businessman Marc Rowan, Trump adviser Robert Gabriel as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The committee is to manage the reconstruction and administration of the Gaza Strip, which has been extensively destroyed by the war.
17.01.2026, 05:08
SDA
The second phase of Trump's peace plan, previously announced by the US government, is intended to lead to a final end to the war. It also provides for the disarmament of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, which it continues to reject. On Thursday, a newly formed transitional government consisting of 14 Palestinian technocrats, who are said to have no connection to Hamas, met for the first time in Cairo. The Bulgarian and former UN Middle East envoy Nikolai Mladenov is to oversee the implementation of Trump's peace plan in the coastal region in future as a representative of the "Peace Council".
He will act as a liaison between the "Peace Council" and the technocratic government on the ground, the White House announced. Another executive council for the Gaza Strip will be set up to support them, it said. In addition to Witkoff, Kushner and Mladenov, Blair is also a member of this committee. Under the ex-prime minister, British troops took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside the USA. The Iraq mission in particular caused a great deal of domestic criticism at the time.
