Tony Blair and Netanyahu hold secret talks on Gaza’s future
Sources say Blair’s initiative would begin with limited testing in certain Gaza areas, expanding only if reforms in the Palestinian Authority take hold.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a secret meeting about a week ago with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as part of moves related to “the day after” arrangements in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the content of the meeting.
“Blair is working on an initiative proposing the introduction of the Palestinian Authority to assume administration of certain designated areas inside the Gaza Strip, with implementation beginning on a trial basis and becoming permanent if successful,” sources familiar with the details told the public broadcaster KAN.
KAN said that the initiative “is conditioned on reforms within the Palestinian Authority’s institutions.”
“Israel’s security establishment discussed the proposal over the past few days and has not rejected it outright, while Blair has been holding parallel contacts with several Arab states to push the plan forward,” it claimed.
The report comes as Blair’s name has recently been floated in connection with US President Donald Trump’s plan to establish a council to administer Gaza under his leadership.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others in Gaza in a two-day war that came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10.