Washington’s postwar plan for Gaza received support from Arab and Muslim leaders during a meeting with US envoys on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.
The Trump administration has adopted a plan drawn up by former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is set to play an important part in its implementation.
News of the plan is intended to exert pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach a permanent ceasefire. This remains a distant prospect as Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza City, with the aim of occupying all of Gaza.
What is in the plan?
The plan calls for Hamas to disengage politically and militarily from Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. While Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been briefed by his envoy Ron Dermer, US president Donald Trump told Arab leaders he would discuss the plan with Netanyahu when they meet on Monday 29th.
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Unlike Trump’s earlier plan for evicting Palestinians from Gaza and transforming the coastal strip into a regional “Riviera”, the new Trump-Blair plan reaffirms the right of Palestinians to remain in Gaza and for Palestinian figures and technocrats to assume signification roles in the pacification, reconstruction, and redevelopment of Gaza in co-ordination with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).
It is obliged to carry out deep reforms and, when the transition period ends, hold elections in Gaza and the West Bank, thereby reaffirming the unity of Palestine’s territories.
How will it be carried out?
Implementation of the plan would be handled by the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita), which would be mandated by the United Nations Security Council and report to that council.
Gita would serve as the “supreme political and legal authority” during the transitional period.
Gita’s board, comprising between seven and 10 members, would include a Palestinian businessman or security figure, a senior UN official, international financial and administrative figures, and a strong representation of Muslims.
Gita’s secretariat would oversee a Palestinian executive authority comprising technocrats who would deal with humanitarian affairs, reconstruction, legislation, legal affairs, security and PA co-ordination.
An international stabilisation force would assist the Palestinian police in imposing order and protecting Gaza’s borders. Gita’s budget would expand from $90 million to $164 million over a three-year period. Arab and Muslim countries would provide funding.
What is Tony Blair’s record in the Middle East?
Blair remains a controversial figure in the region. While prime minister in 2003, he committed British troops to the disastrous US invasion and occupation of Iraq.
An official inquiry found he had acted on flawed intelligence regarding the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
In 2007, after being driven from office by this debacle, he was appointed envoy for the quartet of international powers (the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations), which focused on economic development in advance of the emergence of a Palestinian state.
Israel rejected the quartet plan as it called for an end to settlement expansion and occupation.
