The White House is backing a plan for Gaza that would see former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair head a temporary administration before transferring control to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The proposal envisions Blair heading a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would serve under a United Nations mandate as Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for up to five years.
GITA would be governed by a board of up to ten members, including senior UN officials, prominent international figures, Muslim representatives, and at least one Palestinian voice. It would be supported by a secretariat of around 25 staff.
Initially headquartered in Arish, Egypt, the authority would later move into Gaza under the protection of a UN-endorsed Arab multinational stabilisation force. The Israeli military would withdraw from the territory once this force is in place.
According to the plan, Palestinians would not be encouraged to leave Gaza, and efforts would be made to reunite the territory with the West Bank. Governance would gradually be handed over to the Palestinian Authority (PA), while Hamas would play no role in the administration.
The initiative’s success, however, depends on Washington’s ability to reconcile three competing demands: Israeli security concerns, Palestinian political aspirations, and Arab insistence on a clear path toward Palestinian statehood.
News of the plan emerged just days after the UN general assembly endorsed a different plan for a technocratic administration to take charge in Gaza. – IOL
