Why is the divisive Tony Blair now touted for post-Gaza war interim role?

Tony Blair, who was British prime minister during the 2003 United States-led invasion and occupation of Iraq based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction, and is regarded by many in the Arab world and in the United Kingdom as a “war criminal”, has helped develop “day after” plans for Israel’s war on Gaza.

The highly divisive figure is envisaged in United States President Donald Trump’s 21-point plan presented to Arab and Muslim leaders to become the de facto governor-general of the besieged and bombarded enclave after Hamas is pushed out, according to Israeli and Western media reports.

Some reports say Blair’s ultimate role is not finalised, but the outlines are clear.

Here’s a look at Trump’s plan, what we know about Blair’s role, and what it would mean for everyone involved if it were to all go ahead.

What’s the 21-point plan?
After numerous attempts that have not ended the genocidal war on Gaza, Trump and his team have come up with a new proposal that also purports to leave the door open for the future formation of a sovereign Palestinian state – something Israel has repeatedly rejected.

The plan wants all 48 captives still held in Gaza to be released immediately, in exchange for allowing entry of humanitarian aid, freezing battle lines, and the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli military jails.

The plan would also see Hamas disarm, offer fighters who renounce violence amnesty, and allow others who refuse to leave Gaza.

Crucially, it specifies that no Palestinians will be forced to leave their territory, and says anyone who leaves “voluntarily” will be allowed to return to their homes.

If true in practice, this would signal a U-turn for Trump, who shocked the world in February when he openly touted ethnic cleansing by musing about the US “taking over” Gaza and permanently moving out its more than two million residents, about half of them children. He also released a video generated through artificial intelligence to showcase his vision for the so-called “Gaza Riviera”.

The new proposal prides itself on offering a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, marking another departure as the Republican president has been reluctant to endorse the two-state solution amid a surge of Western nations doing so, such as the UK, France and Canada.

The US and Israel reportedly wish to keep the notorious GHF, the humanitarian organisation they founded to push aside the United Nations and other international aid agencies delivering aid to Palestinians on the ground. Many hundreds of famine-stricken people, including children, have been shot by Israeli soldiers and US mercenaries operating at GHF sites.

Israeli figures and a US consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), have been linked with the GHF and the Gaza Riviera plans. In a response to a UK parliamentary committee inquiry published in late July, BCG said an investigation it commissioned found that some of its US-based staff sidestepped its risk controls to do work related to GHF and to “post-war reconstruction” for the Palestinian enclave.

Trump’s plan to broker a grand bargain has been presented to the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and Turkiye on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

But as the Israeli military continues to systematically destroy and seize Gaza City and starve Palestinians in Gaza while advancing with a vision to annex the occupied West Bank, the plan appears to be provisional at best. Neither Israel nor Hamas has officially commented on it.

Al-jazeera