Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister who led his nation into the struggle in Iraq and whose eight-year tenure as a Middle East envoy acquired — at greatest — combined evaluations, raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he attended a White House summit on the way forward for Gaza.
The contents of the assembly haven’t been made public, though President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff instructed Fox News forward of the gathering that it might concentrate on the administration’s “comprehensive plan” for Gaza after the struggle ends.
To the informal observer, Blair’s presence might have been a shock. While he’s a former world chief with expertise in the Middle East, his official actions in the area over the previous decade have been largely restricted to personal enterprise ventures and sporadic media appearances.
Husam Zomlot, the ambassador who heads the Palestinian Mission to the UK, wouldn’t touch upon Blair’s attendance at the Gaza summit, but it surely’s clear that the former British chief conjures up little confidence amongst Palestinians.
After leaving Downing Street in 2007, Blair served for eight years as the Middle East Envoy for the so-called Quartet, a bunch of world powers searching for a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
By the time Blair resigned from the publish in 2015, the Quartet was largely seen as an ineffective physique with no actual energy.
Blair’s observe file as the envoy gained few plaudits. While the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs components of the occupied West Bank, initially welcomed his appointment, their relationship soured rapidly.
Blair turned unpopular determine and was near being declared a persona non grata in the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah, due to what the PA noticed as his bias in the direction of Israel.
Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland and non-resident senior fellow at Brookings, instructed NCS that whereas Blair’s presence at the assembly might assist Trump get the consideration of rich donors, it’s going to damage public opinion in the Middle East and internationally.
“(Blair’s) legacy of backing the Iraq war and his financial and political ties to rulers in the Middle East have undermined his reputation in the Middle East and elsewhere,” Telhami mentioned.
Palestinians are already deeply distrustful of the Trump administration and its plans for the way forward for Gaza and Blair’s involvement in the discussions is unlikely to ease their considerations.
In the UK, the chief of the centrist Liberal Democrat celebration, Ed Davey, demanded Blair briefs the UK parliament on the assembly, saying that the UK should “leverage all the information at our disposal to make (Trump) do the right thing.”
Trump has beforehand floated the concept of a US takeover of Gaza, which would come with the elimination of its residents and redevelopment of the utterly devastated slim strip of land into what has been described as a “Middle Eastern Riviera.”
Earlier this yr, the president went so far as sharing an AI-generated video on social media, which promoted a metamorphosis of Gaza right into a Gulf state-like resort that includes a golden statue of himself.
One of the largest proponents of such a plan is Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Like Blair, Kushner holds no official function. And like Blair, he was additionally at the assembly on Wednesday.
According to studies in Israeli media, Ron Dermer, Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, who has shut hyperlinks to each Kushner and Blair, can be in Washington this week.
As the then ambassador to the US, Dermer performed a key function in negotiating the 2020 Abraham Accords that noticed Israel normalize relations with a number of Gulf states. The Abraham Accords deal was spearheaded by Kushner and was seen as a key success of the first Trump administration.
Dermer has labored with Blair in the previous, and the two are mentioned to know one another effectively.
Telhami instructed NCS that whereas Dermer has been coordinating with Blair and the Trump crew on Gaza, no Arab illustration was current at the assembly.
“There is no heavyweight Arab representation in the room, even though Arabs will be heavily impacted by any Gaza outcome, especially Israel’s neighbors, and wealthy Arab states will be expected to foot much of the bill,” he mentioned.
The “Riviera” suggestion, first made by Trump throughout a go to of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, has been broadly condemned, with the PA calling it a “serious violation of international law.” European leaders referred to as it “unacceptable.”
But Telhami mentioned Blair’s presence at the assembly might lend weight to Trump’s plan.
“Blair could give the appearance of broadening Trump’ group of advisers which includes Witkoff and Kushner, given Blair’s prominence and international visibility,” Telhami mentioned.
He mentioned that Trump’s reconstruction plan – if it have been to materialize – would require “enormous amounts” and Blair’s shut monetary and political ties to rich Gulf states may very well be helpful to Trump.
While the plan was initially seen as an off-the-cuff comment by Trump, the wheels have been put into movement.
A examine imagining the redevelopment of Gaza, which would come with paying Palestinians to go away their land, was finally put collectively and introduced to the Trump administration, in line with a Financial Times report.
The FT later revealed that whereas the venture was led by Israeli businessmen and used monetary fashions developed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), staffers from Blair’s assume tank, the Tony Blair Institute For Global Change (TBI), have been concerned in discussions about it.
In a submission to the UK parliament, BCG confirmed that certainly one of its senior companions, who acted in breach of the firm’s guidelines and direct orders, assembled a crew to mannequin and analyze post-war reconstruction eventualities for Gaza and that this crew “interacted during this work” with the TBI.
The institute instructed NCS it speaks to many alternative teams and organizations with publish struggle plans for Gaza, however confused it was not concerned in creating the plan in query.
A spokesperson for the institute wouldn’t touch upon Blair’s presence in the assembly, solely highlighting that the institute has “always been dedicated to building a better Gaza for Gazans.”
“Tony Blair has worked for this since leaving office,” the spokesperson mentioned. “It has never been about relocating Gazans, which is a proposal the TBI has never authored, developed or endorsed.”
As they wait to study extra about Trump’s plan for Gaza, folks in the devastated territory can solely hope that Blair conveyed these positions to the males assembled in the White House as plainly as his institute has.