Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair dropped from Trump’s Gaza “board of peace”
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- Tony Blair removed from Trump’s proposed Gaza “board of peace” amid objections from Arab and Muslim states.
- Blair praised the plan as “bold and intelligent” and had been working on Gaza peace initiatives for over a year.
- He is now expected to serve on an executive committee with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will not serve on the “board of peace” proposed by US President Donald Trump for Gaza, according to the Financial Times.
The decision comes after objections from several Arab and Muslim states, citing damage to Blair’s reputation in the Middle East due to his support for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Blair had been the only named member of the board when Trump unveiled his 20-point plan in late September to address the conflict between 'Israel' and Hamas. Blair described the initiative as “bold and intelligent” and expressed willingness to participate.
An ally of Blair confirmed that he would not be part of the board, but he is expected to join an executive committee instead, alongside Trump adviser Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and senior officials from Arab and Western nations. The executive committee, not mentioned in the original Gaza plan, will coordinate between the board of peace and a Palestinian technocratic committee responsible for daily governance of the Gaza Strip.
Blair, who served as a Middle East envoy after leaving Downing Street in 2007, had been independently developing peace plans for Gaza for over a year. His exclusion reflects the sensitivity of his involvement in the region.
Since its announcement, Trump’s Gaza plan has largely stalled. UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese has criticized 'Israel' for using the fragile ceasefire to advance what she described as the “ethnic cleansing of Palestine,” telling the Doha Forum that the Netanyahu government seeks to “crush” Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Trump initially indicated that other members of the board of peace, including heads of state, would be named “in the next few days,” but no further appointments have been made.
