WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (APP): President Donald Trump has appointed the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a well-known divisive figure, to a newly created Gaza “Board of Peace”, which is tasked to supervise the temporary governance of the war-shattered enclave under the US plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians.
Reacting to Blair’s appointment, analysts say that he comes to the new role with “heavy baggage” from the Iraq War.
Acknowledging that Blair remains a divisive figure, Trump conceded last October: “I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody.”
The White House said Friday that the seven-strong “founding executive board” will also include Trump’s special envoy, the property developer Steve Witkoff; the World Bank President, Ajay Banga; and the President’s son-in-law and long-time adviser Jared Kushner. Trump himself will serve as chairman, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks.
Trump has also invited the leaders of Egypt and Turkiye to join his “Board of Peace”.
A Turkish presidential spokesperson posted on social media on Saturday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received an invitation from Trump a day earlier to “become a founding member” of the board.
Separately, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, said at a news conference on Saturday that the country was reviewing a separate invitation from Trump to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to join the board mandated to steer Gaza, which has been reeling from more than two years of Israeli military bombardment and restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries.
“Each executive board member will oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization,” a White House statement said.
“The United States remains fully committed to supporting this transitional framework, working in close partnership with Israel, key Arab nations, and the international community.”
Blair’s inclusion is already proving contentious in the region. The former British leader remains a divisive figure in the Middle East for his role in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Soon after leaving office in 2007 he became special representative of the Quartet, a group composed of the US, EU, Russia and the UN seeking peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But he became seen as too close to the Israelis and stepped down in 2015.
His name to many across the world is a byword for the Iraq War after he relied on flawed intelligence to join President George W. Bush in the 2003 invasion despite strong public opposition in the U.K.
A landmark British inquiry in 2016 found the basis for going to war was “far from satisfactory.” After that chastening conclusion, Blair expressed “sorrow, regret and apology” and took “full responsibility without exception or excuse” for the war’s consequences.
Blair “is very divisive,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, in a media interview.
“He carries heavy baggage,” he told NBC News. “Many Iraqis and many Arabs and many Muslims and many human rights organizations have accused Tony Blair of having blood on his hands.”
Blair’s position “as hardcore an advocate of Israel as the other six Americans on the board,” Gerges added, “does not really send a reassuring message to either Palestinians or Arabs.”
The president also appointed Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum as senior advisers to the board to oversee “day-to-day strategy and operations”. Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN envoy to the Middle East, will serve as the High Representative for Gaza.
The list was made public a day after Trump announced the formation of the “board of peace” as part of phase two of the US-brokered plan to end the conflict in Gaza. Characteristically effusive, the president described it as the “Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place”.
Its creation follows the formation of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with running day-to-day affairs in post-war Gaza. The body will be headed by Ali Sha’ath, a Gaza native and former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.
The White House said: “Dr Sha’ath brings deep experience in public administration, economic development, and international engagement, and is widely respected for his pragmatic, technocratic leadership and understanding of Gaza’s institutional realities.”
Trump has also appointed the former head of US special forces, Major General Jasper Jeffers, to lead an International Stabilization Force (ISF), which is to oversee security across the territory.
The US-backed peace plan, launched on 10 October, brought about the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and a cessation of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian group. The second phase is now in motion, though reports of aid shortages and sporadic Israeli attacks continue to cast a shadow over the process.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has also demolished thousands of structures that survived the war, including homes and greenhouses, in the part of Gaza is it still controls.