A former British national security adviser has said Tony Blair's peace plan for Gaza must secure the support of Arab nations to have any chance of success.
Peter Ricketts said the post-conflict blueprint was one that could forestall the most extreme Israeli efforts to expel the population of the Strip following a war that has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza.
“We will only be able to get Arab countries engaged in the massive cost and the risks of reconstructing Gaza, providing security in Gaza, if there is a prospect of a Palestinian state at the end of the process,” the former diplomat told BBC radio.
“I think they're good proposals. I don't think they're all that different to the ideas that the Arab countries and the Europeans have been working up.”
A reported leak of the plans said the centrepiece of Mr Blair's ideas was the establishment of a Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) that would run the Strip for a time limited period.
The concept was presented to US President Donald Trump by Mr Blair during a White House meeting in July. British officials have also promoted the principles of the plan and are ready to circulate the idea as a draft agreement for Gaza to next week's UN General Assembly.
Lord Ricketts said the Arab Peace Initiative was a foundational document for the architects of the Blair deal. “There was a so-called Arab peace plan on these lines,” he said. “Critically, it is Gaza for Gazans. So it avoids any suggestion of forced expulsion of Palestinians, which is very much part of the plans of certain Israelis, including the far-right ministers [Itamar] Ben-Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich.”
Monday's summit on promoting a two-state solution has been condemned by the US but co-sponsors Saudi Arabia and France want it seen as an agreement for Gaza. A collective agreement on how to rebuild Gaza and pave the way for a Palestinian state would be seen as a triumph for the planners.
Mr Blair, who was Britain’s Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, was present at a White House meeting with Mr Trump when the reaction to the president's plans for postwar Gaza were discussed.
The hope is that the US leader's comments on redeveloping Gaza with Riviera-style resorts can be refocused on the needs of its people. “Conversations with the Americans are ongoing with the involvement of Tony Blair and ultimately if he is a bridge between the American ‘Riviera’ plan and a broader solution which is acceptable to all parties, then so be it,” a Whitehall source familiar with the talks said.
Mr Blair spent some time as Middle East envoy attempting to create the economic conditions for a two-state solution.
Steve Witkoff, US Middle East envoy, has stated that Washington is putting together a “very comprehensive” plan on “the next day” after the war ends.
Shuttle diplomacy
Expectations for what's next are an effort to achieve something “more than just recognition of Palestine” at the UN on September 22. One official said the day “can’t be a rehash of what countries did in July”.
“Our distinct hope is that it will be much more than that because if it is just recognition, then we've not achieved very much in the interim,” the source added.
Earlier in September, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was “working in lockstep with our Gulf partners to establish a framework for peace”.
“Ending the war in Gaza means not just reaching a ceasefire but turning it into a durable peace,” the source added.
Alongside getting a ceasefire, more aid and release of hostages, Britain is “working intensely on the conditions for a lasting peace and the foundations of a two-state solution”.
International diplomats have engaged for months with regional powers in the format of an “Arab Quint” (Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) to seek a common understanding of postwar governance, recovery and eventual reconstruction.
All sides in the Quint process have said Hamas could play no future part in a Palestinian state.
“The question is how do we build on that consensus?” the source added.
One facet of the plan that has given regional partners some comfort is a series of offices within the GITA, designed to preserve the rights of Palestinians in Gaza, including a Property Rights Preservation Unit.
This is designed to counteract hardliners in Israel who seek the “voluntary” departure of Gazans on a non-return basis.
Polling by Zogby Research Services for Mr Blair's think tank in May found that less than four per cent of Palestinians in Gaza said they wanted Hamas to govern the Strip.
The poll found significant opposition to Hamas among Palestinians in Gaza, with 92 per cent holding Hamas responsible for the current situation, close to Israel's 93 per cent.
Gazans’ preferred choice of government is the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas, at 35 per cent. The second most popular option is a transitional international coalition working with a local Gaza administration at 27 per cent.
