The White House is reportedly backing a plan for Tony Blair to lead a temporary international administration in Gaza, according to Israeli media reports. The proposed body, called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita), would serve as the territory's supreme political and legal authority for up to five years, initially without direct Palestinian Authority involvement.
The plan is modelled on transitional administrations in Timor-Leste and Kosovo. Gita could initially be based in el-Arish, Egypt, and later enter Gaza with a UN-endorsed, largely Arab multinational force. The proposal envisions eventual unification of Palestinian territory under the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinians would not be forced to leave the territory.
Blair would head a secretariat of up to 25 people and chair a seven-person board overseeing an executive body. However, his role is controversial due to his past as Middle East envoy and his support for the 2003 Iraq war, which has made him deeply unpopular among Palestinians and in the region.
Some Western diplomats stress the plan is not final, and the interim administration might last only two years. The proposal is linked to a ceasefire and full hostage deal. It contrasts with a UN-backed plan for a one-year technocratic administration that would hand power to a reformed Palestinian Authority after elections.
The lack of a clear timeline for Palestinian Authority control under the White House plan may hinder endorsement by Palestinians and Arab leaders. However, it could reassure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The plan is seen as a compromise between Donald Trump's earlier proposal for US-Israeli control of Gaza and the UN-backed New York declaration endorsed by over 140 states.
Arab states have said they will only contribute to a UN-mandated peacekeeping force if there is a clear political timeline for Palestinian statehood. Some may view the Blair plan as a more benign occupation rather than an irreversible path to statehood.
