As peace talks between Hamas and Israel remain stagnant, the issue of governance is unresolved. If Hamas is driven out of the region, who will lead a post-war reconstruction?

Tony Blair’s Middle East involvement

While the role is not finalised, Blair received praise for his involvement in the Middle East from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was in London over the weekend.

“Tony Blair is someone who’s always played a constructive role. He’s someone who does look for solutions. He’s someone who has been involved in the Middle East issues for some period of time, and I’m sure that he will always play a constructive role, because that’s the nature of Tony Blair,” Albanese said.

‘Not surprising’

The 2016 Chilcot Inquiry found the UK government decided to go to war in Iraq before peaceful options had been exhausted, had no post-invasion strategy, and did not adequately track the deaths of Iraqi civilians during the occupation.

‘War criminal’

“I don’t think he would enjoy very much legitimacy amongst the Palestinian public or amongst partners in Palestinian government positions.”

What else is in the US plan?

He proposed transforming the seaside enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, proposing to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in Egypt and Jordan.

“Tomorrow he might go, ‘Oh no, a sovereign Palestinian state is off the table’, and his position might harden again.”

What does this mean for the Palestinian Authority?

“I think that it would be a tough pill for a lot of Palestinians to swallow that all major governing decisions in Gaza are being made by an international board primarily comprising foreigners,” he said.

“He will not be seen as an impartial interlocutor who runs a ‘transitional administration’.”

Will Israel agree?

“The GITA proposal grants security control of the Gaza Strip to an international force combining potentially foreign personnel and especially vetted domestic police force,” he said.