Trump backs Tony Blair's proposal for post-war Gaza, says report

US President Donald Trump has reportedly authorised former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to rally regional support for a plan to establish a transitional body to govern Gaza until it is eventually handed over to the Palestinian Authority, according to The Times of Israel.

Blair has been advising the White House and talking with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, about the US president’s plans for a post-war Gaza.

The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that the Trump administration now believes securing the agreement of major international stakeholders on a body to replace Hamas in Gaza is essential for ending the war. 

Trump has reportedly rejected proposals for forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza and has backed Blair's vision instead.

This contradicts comments made by Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday.

Smotrich said the Gaza Strip is “a real estate bonanza” and claimed Israel has shared a plan with the US on how to divide it up. 

Speaking at a real estate conference in Tel Aviv, Smotrich said Israel had carried out “the first phase of urban renewal” by demolishing Gaza, and it was now working on a plan to start rebuilding it

Blair's plan reportedly aims at "the eventual unifying of all the Palestinian territory under the PA [Palestinian Authority]".

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The PA has been widely discredited among Palestinians as a corrupt vehicle of the Israeli occupation.

Blair's plan proposes the creation of a Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) to temporarily govern Gaza.

GITA would have a board made up of seven to 10 members, most of whom would not be Palestinian.

The board would include "at least one qualified Palestinian representative (potentially from the business or security sector)", and would coordinate with the PA.

The GITA leadership, according to The Times of Israel, would be protected by an Executive Protection Unit "staffed by elite personnel from Arab and international contributors".

GITA would oversee Palestinian technocrats who would administer post-war Gaza, and would only transfer power to the PA once it was satisfied with "PA reform efforts".

Blair's proposal also refers to the concept of "disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR)" of Hamas.

'Trump Riviera'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Jerusalem earlier this week that "Hamas can no longer continue to exist as an armed element", which is different to calling for its total destruction.

Trump has told Blair to secure regional support for the plan, including from Saudi Arabia, according to The Times of Israel.

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has previously reportedly been linked to a project widely condemned for proposing the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, involving a sweeping post-war redevelopment of the besieged strip.

Plans included a "Trump Riviera" and infrastructure named after wealthy Gulf monarchs, according to the Financial Times.

But a draft of Blair's proposal, according to The Times of Israel, envisions a "Property Rights Preservation Unit" protecting the right of return for Palestinians who leave Gaza - and allows them to retain property ownership.

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The Times of Israel said Blair's office "declined to comment on the record".

This report comes as Israel has launched a full-scale ground invasion to occupy Gaza City. 

Relentless attacks by Israeli warplanes, tanks, explosive-laden ground robots and armed quadcopters have forced tens of thousands of residents to flee as strikes edge closer to their homes. 

Many civilians have been displaced within the city itself, while others have fled south in search of shelter.

Since the war began nearly two years ago, Israeli forces have killed at least 64,900 Palestinians and wounded more than 165,000, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Leaked Israeli military data indicates that over 80 percent of those killed are civilians, including nearly 20,000 children, based on figures provided by Palestinian health officials.