THE WHITE House is pushing a proposal to instal former British prime minister Tony Blair as head of a so-called Gaza International Transitional Authority, granting him sweeping powers over the besieged territory for up to five years.
The plan, initially reported in Israeli media, would sideline the Palestinian Authority and place Gaza under what is effectively an international occupation run by one of the chief architects of the Iraq war.
Under the scheme, Blair would preside over a secretariat of up to 25 people and a board of seven, positioning himself as Gaza’s ‘supreme political and legal authority’.
The body would at first be based in el-Arish, Egypt, before entering Gaza under the cover of a UN-endorsed multinational force, largely drawn from Arab states.
Blair would oversee commissioners handling security, reconstruction, legal affairs, and coordination with the PA, while the humanitarian brief would be tied to the discredited Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Palestinians have every reason to regard Blair with contempt.
During his premiership, he colluded with US president George W. Bush to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a war based on lies about weapons of mass destruction.
Blair had secretly signed up to regime change plans a year earlier, commissioning an ‘Iraq Options’ paper in March 2002 without consulting his cabinet.
By April that year, at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, he had pledged Britain’s participation regardless of legality. The result was catastrophic: up to a million dead, millions more displaced, Iraq shattered, and the wider Middle East destabilised, paving the way for the rise of armed groups that flourished in the chaos.
Even after leaving office in 2007, Blair remained a willing servant of imperialist interests.
As Middle East envoy until 2015, he posed as a broker of peace while actively shielding Israel from accountability and obstructing Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Across the region he is despised for this duplicity, and his appointment to govern Gaza would be seen not as humanitarian intervention but as a continuation of colonial control by other means.
Arab states have already expressed anger that the US-backed Blair plan contains no binding timetable for Palestinian statehood.
The Blair scheme offers only open-ended administration designed to reassure Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The proposal suggests including one Palestinian ‘representative’, possibly from the business or security elite, alongside international figures, further entrenching foreign control.
For Palestinians, Blair embodies everything they reject: a war criminal who lied his country into an illegal invasion, crushed opposition at home, and legitimised colonial interventions abroad.
Terror case is thrown out!
THE terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was thrown out yesterday morning following a technical error in the way the charge against him was brought.
He was charged in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, in November 2024.
The 27-year-old, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, denied the charge and has described it as political.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Woolwich Crown Court that the charge against Mr Ó hAnnaidh was ‘unlawful’ and ‘null’.
The court erupted into applause as the judge handed down the ruling.
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill has welcomed the ruling.
O’Neill said: ‘All charges have been dropped against Kneecap’s Mo Chara. I strongly welcome this decision.
‘These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
‘Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide, and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine.’
Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert said: ‘Liam Og is a free man.
‘We said we would fight them and win.
‘We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER.’