[arista]

[The former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair
has been involved in discussions
about running a transitional authority
in Gaza if there is a ceasefire,
the BBC understands.

Sir Tony, who took the UK into the Iraq War
in 2003, has been in high-level planning talks
with all parties to end the war
and on the post-conflict future
for the Palestinian territory, it is understood.
At the heart of the latest proposal - discussed by
US President Donald Trump and Arab leaders
at the UN this week - is the idea of Gaza being
run by a transitional body with
UN backing and Gulf support,
before being handed back to
Palestinian control.
One proposal said to have gained support
in Washington is for Sir Tony to lead
that authority, although his office
has said only that he would not support
anything that displaced the people of Gaza.
Sir Tony joined a White House meeting with
Trump in August to discuss plans for
post-war Gaza, which the US Middle East
envoy Steve Witkoff described as
"very comprehensive" - though little else
was disclosed about the meeting.

The former prime minister served as
Middle East envoy for the Quartet of
international powers
(the US, EU, Russia and the UN)
for a few years after leaving office in 2007.
He focused on bringing economic development
to Palestine and creating the conditions
for a two state-solution.

As PM, he took the decision to commit
British forces to the 2003 Iraq War that was heavily
criticised in the official inquiry into the conflict,
which found he had acted on flawed intelligence
without certainty about the production of weapons
of mass destruction there.
Reports of discussions about his involvement
in a transitional authority for Gaza come after
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said
on Thursday that he was ready to work
with Trump and other world leaders to
implement a two-state peace plan.

Abbas stressed his rejection of a future
governing role for Hamas in Gaza and
demanded it disarm.

Earlier this week, the UK formally recognised
the state of Palestine alongside Canada and Australia.
More countries followed this example,
including France and Denmark, while Israel
and the US criticised the move as
a reward for Hamas.

Sir Keir emphasised the diplomatic move
means Hamas can have "no future,
no role in government, no role in security"
and was the
"exact opposite of their hateful vision".

The Israeli military launched a campaign
in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack
on southern Israel on 7 October 2023,
in which about 1,200 people were killed
and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,419 people have been killed
in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then,
according to the territory's Hamas-run
health ministry.
A UN commission of inquiry has said
Israel has committed genocide against
Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel denies.]




https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3drmk95xlzo

[Nicky91]

seems Blair gets more demented each day

[Livia]

The man should be dumped in the Middle East with his avaricious, bleeding-heart wife. They really are the worst of us.