US President Donald Trump on Friday assigned a prominent role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a senior US military officer to head a newly proposed international security force for the war-battered territory.
Trump announced the formation of a “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and governance, naming Blair among a board dominated by Americans as he advances a controversial plan for economic redevelopment in the enclave, which has been left largely in ruins after more than two years of intense Israeli bombardment.
The announcement came shortly after a Palestinian technocratic governing committee held its first meeting in Cairo. The meeting was attended by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key figure in his Middle East policy.
Trump, who has declared himself chair of the Board of Peace, unveiled its full membership on Friday. Alongside Blair, the board includes Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s longtime business partner turned international envoy.
Blair remains a controversial figure in the region because of his role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Trump acknowledged last year that he wanted to ensure Blair would be an “acceptable choice” to regional stakeholders.
After leaving office in 2007, Blair spent years focused on Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy as the Middle East Quartet’s special envoy, representing the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia.
According to the White House, the Board of Peace will focus on governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilisation.
Trump, a former real-estate developer, has previously floated the idea of transforming Gaza into a Riviera-style resort destination, though he has since stepped back from suggestions of forcibly relocating its population.
Other board members include World Bank President Ajay Banga, US financier Marc Rowan, and Robert Gabriel, a senior National Security Council official and close Trump ally.
Security force and renewed strikes
Trump also named Major General Jasper Jeffers to lead an International Stabilization Force tasked with securing Gaza and training a new police force to replace Hamas.
Jeffers, a US Central Command special operations officer, previously oversaw ceasefire monitoring between Israel and Lebanon in late 2024.
The United States has been seeking international troop contributions for the force, with Indonesia among the early volunteers. However, diplomats caution that securing participation could prove difficult without a full disarmament of Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said on Friday it had launched new strikes on Gaza in response to what it described as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire declared in October, despite Washington announcing that the Gaza plan had entered a second phase focused on disarming Hamas.
Israel’s offensive was launched following Hamas’s October 2023 attack, which triggered the prolonged war.
Gaza governance committee
The technocratic governing committee is headed by Ali Shaath, a Gaza native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister.
Its Cairo meeting also included former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who was appointed high representative to liaise between the committee and Trump’s Board of Peace.
Committee members are expected to meet again on Saturday, with plans to travel to Gaza in the coming weeks.
“Our work is in Gaza, and we need to be there,” one committee member told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump also announced the creation of a second, largely advisory executive board, which will include Blair, Witkoff, Mladenov, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, alongside senior representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Israel has opposed a Turkish role in Gaza’s security arrangements due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sharp criticism of Israel’s military actions.
The board will also include Sigrid Kaag, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, despite Trump administration efforts to limit the United Nations’ role in the crisis.
AFP
