Who Is Tony Blair, Trump’s Pick to Manage the Gaza Strip?
Tony Blair is widely regarded by many politicians as a malign figure in the Middle East-someone who brought no benefit to Palestinians, Arabs, or muslims. His criminal and destructive role has been well known for years, with some even labeling him “the brother of the devil.” His name has returned to headlines since U.S. President Donald Trump recommended Blair as a candidate to lead Gaza.
Who is Tony Blair? He is a British politician who became the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as 1812. his premiership began in 1997 during which he oversaw reforms in health, education, public services, and strengthened local government powers. Blair remains the only Labor party leader to serve two consecutive terms and holds the second-longest tenure in over 150 years.
Tony Blair’s Crimes in Iraq
blair joined forces with George W. Bush to launch an invasion of Iraq and has refused to apologize for it. he also played a central role in crafting the 1998 Good friday Agreement that largely ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland. However,he became one of the key direct figures behind the 2003 invasion of Iraq under claims that Baghdad possessed weapons of mass destruction-a claim later disproven by United Nations reports showing Iraq had no such weapons.
The bloody war resulted in over 200,000 Iraqi deaths and led to Saddam Hussein’s arrest,trial,and execution on December 30,2006.
During historic mass protests against the iraq war across London and other British cities-and globally-Blair was branded a “war criminal.”
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights labeled the invasion a crime and focused legal efforts on holding accountable those responsible for torture and abuse inflicted by British forces on Iraqi detainees-action that could potentially implicate Blair criminally for complicity in torture.
In addition, Greece’s Bar Association filed formal complaints at The Hague’s international Criminal Court (ICC) in 2003 accusing Blair and his ministers of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity based on violations of international conventions during their conduct related to Iraq.
On July 6, 2016-following publication of The Chilcot Inquiry report describing Britain’s involvement as rushed decisions based on “flawed intelligence” beyond UN mandates-Blair defended his choice alongside Bush: “I fully accept responsibility for my decisions based on what I knew at that time…” He insisted Saddam posed threats both domestically within Iraq and globally.
the Daily Mail reported that during a press conference blair said: “People want me to apologize but I cannot…If I were back there with same details I would make same decision because I genuinely believe it was right.”
Blair’s Ties to Gaza
Blair re-emerged politically due to his involvement with Palestinian affairs between 2007-2015 when he served as Special Envoy for Middle East peace representing an international Quartet negotiators’ team. Yet his efforts failed amid continued Israeli occupation policies including settlement expansions violating international law. Many viewed his role as biased toward Zionist interests rather than balancing both sides fairly-a perception contributing heavily towards widespread Palestinian contempt against him across Arab communities.
On August 27 he was invited by Donald Trump to attend discussions at The White house about Gaza governance reportedly supported by several close associates within Trump’s circle including Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law) alongside steve Whitcuff-the current U.S special envoy for Middle East affairs-with whom he shares backing claims within Washington circles.
Tony Blair’s Plan For Managing Gaza
Recent leaked documents reveal Blair’s post-conflict proposal envisions establishing multilayer hierarchies led primarily by senior diplomats plus international business leaders atop its framework complemented by an oversight board including representation from Islamic nations intended solely toward legitimizing authority.
Palestinians handling day-to-day affairs would be placed at base-levels without any fixed timeline outlined regarding full restoration or self-governance control over Gaza itself; nor does this plan clarify Israel’s settler relationship throughout any subsequent phases clearly enough or provide substantive context outlining next steps relative specifically concerning Israeli occupiers versus Palestinian administration dynamic overall.
Hamas’ Response To Tony Blair
This week Hamas Political Bureau member Hussam Badran described former UK Prime Minister Tony blair as an unwelcome figure among Palestinians stating unequivocally: “Any initiative linked directly or indirectly with such undesirable figures will prove disastrous for our people.”
Badran condemned former PM maintaining he’s deserving perhaps even legal prosecution internationally citing specifically his responsibility tied primarily connecting crimes committed especially surrounding orchestrating/involvement facilitating war aggression attuned toward invading Iraq.
He further condemned him referring personally calling ‘brother-of-the-devil,’ insisting throughout history no good ever came through actions taken benefitting Palestine cause Arabs nor Muslims from this man whose careers marred deeply marked negatively owing legacy lies predominantly attributable serious harm inflicted regionally.
badran reiterated emphatically: “Management over Palestinian matters whether inside Gaza or West bank ultimately remains internal work needing national consensus; neither regional actors nor global powers possess legitimate rights imposing external directives governing how we administer ourselves.” Highlighting confidence possessed locally amongst Palestinians stating clearly their capability along expertise enabling them independently manage relations internally plus regionally externally alike successfully without foreign imposition whatsoever.”
“As December last year,” Badran added further referencing Hamas leadership decision confirmed following internal consultations conveyed outwardly through alliances formed between various factions + pleasant countries highlighting explicit rejection blunt unilateral governance assumed exclusively managing Gaza prolonging conflict displacement resulting increased devastation affecting our people grievously.”.
