Tony Blair named to Trump-led Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

New Delhi, Sept 30: Former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair has been named as the first member of a new international “Board of Peace,” which will temporarily oversee Gaza under a US-backed plan to end the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas.

US President Donald Trump, who will chair the body, said Blair had agreed to join and that “leaders from other countries” would be announced soon. The board is part of a 20-point peace proposal that calls for an immediate halt to hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Under the plan, Gaza would be run by a technocratic Palestinian committee under international supervision. Hamas would be excluded “in any form,” while aid and reconstruction efforts would begin immediately. A multinational stabilisation force would also be deployed to help secure the territory and train local police.

Blair, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007 and later as Middle East envoy for the Quartet of the US, EU, Russia and UN, called the initiative “the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering,” reports the BBC. In a statement, he praised Trump’s “bold and intelligent plan” and said the willingness of the US president to chair the board sent “a huge signal of support and confidence in the future of Gaza.”