Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister, has reportedly been removed from consideration for a top position on US President Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” for post-war Gaza. This decision comes after strong objections from Muslim and Arab countries.
The main reasons for the regional backlash centre on Blair’s highly controversial role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and significant concerns that any governance structure he was part of would sideline the Palestinian people. This news was initially reported by the Financial Times.
Crucially, the Palestinian Authority (PA) played a role in the objections. The PA sent a clear message to both Blair and US officials: any new governing body set up in Gaza that does not have a direct, formal link to the PA “will not be able to survive,” according to a Palestinian official who spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. The official stressed the illogical nature of Israel’s demand for a Gaza body completely separate from the Palestinian Authority.
The Financial Times confirmed that Blair was taken out of the running for the “Board of Peace” after regional governments voiced their anger over his past record. They explicitly warned that giving Blair a major role would risk marginalizing the Palestinians in their own territory.
Those involved in the discussions indicated that the main Board of Peace is now planned to consist of serving world leaders, which immediately excludes Blair.
However, the story doesn’t end there. An ally of Blair suggested that he is still expected to join a smaller executive board that reports directly to the main body. This smaller group would include people like Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, advisor Steve Witkoff, and senior officials from various Arab and Western nations. Another source noted that Blair might still take on a different, unnamed role, pointing out that “the Americans and Israelis like him.”
Blair has been deeply involved in post-conflict planning for some time. Following his time as Prime Minister, he served as a Middle East envoy and has been developing proposals for Gaza through his Tony Blair Institute for over a year. He reportedly advanced a US-backed plan to create a transitional authority in Gaza that would eventually replace Hamas and hand control over to the Palestinian Authority.
When news first broke that Blair might lead or take a prominent position in Trump’s transition plan, it immediately drew heavy criticism. The outrage was mainly due to his role in the disastrous Iraq invasion, which was later proven to have been launched on faulty intelligence and led to the tragic deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
Despite the backlash, Blair was the only figure publicly named for a position on the board following Trump’s September unveiling of a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war. Trump even called him a “very good man,” while also acknowledging the regional criticism: “I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody.”
The complex discussions continue behind the scenes. Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported that Blair had a private, unpublicized meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Trump’s governance plan for post-war Gaza.
Trump’s overall Gaza plan outlines how the conflict is expected to conclude and how the enclave would be managed in the aftermath. Although Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly supports the proposal, critics argue that the plan fails to offer any clear pathway toward Palestinian statehood. Furthermore, it suggests that Gaza would be run under a legal framework separate from the occupied West Bank, which raises further questions about a unified Palestinian future.
The region remains in a state of high tension. As Gaza enters a fragile ceasefire, Israel continues some bombardment in parts of the enclave. Mediators and world leaders are pushing Israel to move to the next, more secure phase of the truce, but the risk remains that the current ceasefire could collapse if it doesn’t lead to a more permanent agreement. The struggle over who governs Gaza after the war is a central piece of this uncertain future, and the exclusion of Tony Blair reflects the deep political sensitivities involved.
