The naming of former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair to play a role in the new international body that will oversee the end of the Gaza war has raised eyebrows in the region and around the world.
Blair will be part of the “Board of Peace,” which is being designed to help Gaza move from war and destruction to the next stage. He is one of the most prominent names mentioned. US President Donald Trump said “leaders from other countries” on the board will be named later.
This means that Blair is the most well-known person who is not American who may play a key role. Blair said the plans were “the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering,” the BBC noted.
The first reactions to the Blair role happened in the UAE. This is because Blair is seen positively in the UAE, and he has frequently been to the country. An article in The New Statesman discussed Blair speaking at the World Government Summit in the UAE earlier this year. It described Blair on a “huge Dubai stage with ranks of political leaders filling the auditorium.” It also said Blair had introduced Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, during the event.
At The National, Damien McElroy wrote that, “Blair, the statesman, has been energetic and engaged as an ex-prime minister with a global reach through his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Al-Ain media in the UAE had a long article on what might be next for Blair as well. It described Blair as a man who “never left the Middle East,” alluding to the fact that he played a key role in the region in the 1990s and after. “After three decades of repeated engagement with Middle East crises, former British prime minister Tony Blair returns to the heart of the Gaza issue,” the report said.
Blair's name associated with aiming to solve conflict, UAE media notes
Al-Ain noted that “since assuming the British prime ministership in 1997, Tony Blair’s name has been associated with attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Today, more than 30 years and five US presidents later, Blair reemerges as a pivotal player in formulating a plan to rebuild and manage Gaza should a ceasefire agreement be reached between Israel and Hamas.”
According to what Al-Ain News has learned, “Blair himself may be chosen to become the first leader of the international transitional authority. He will be responsible for making broad strategic and diplomatic decisions and coordinating with the countries expected to fund a significant portion of the reconstruction efforts.”
The report described this as a possible re-emergence for Blair as a figure at the heart of “Middle East maneuverings.” The report notes that after leaving office, Blair had worked as a UN envoy and also as a special adviser and “shadow mediator.” The report says that some Palestinian critics see Blair as leaning toward Israel.
The report argued that “Blair’s reappearance in the midst of the Gaza negotiations was no surprise to those who followed his career. Beginning with his role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreements, which ended sectarian violence in Northern Ireland at the beginning of his prime ministership, Blair embraced the most complex conflicts, including mobilizing NATO allies for military intervention in Kosovo a year later.”
The role of Blair also appears to be linked to the return of Jared Kushner, who played a key role in the Abraham Accords. Now that the war is winding down, it appears Blair, Kushner, and others, such as Steve Witkoff, will try to win the peace.