According to the leaked draft plan, the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) will administer the Palestinian enclave and will be run by an international board. And former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is being considered to lead this authority.
Diplomats say “he has an unparalleled network in the Middle East and he has long experience of dealing with both Israeli and Palestinian leaderships,” according to the BBC. Indeed, he even held meetings with Hamas leaders at least seven times, as reported by Middle East Eye.
However, his numerous sins, especially the invasion of Iraq, make him one of the worst candidates for the job. Below, I'll explain concretely why he's unsuitable.
The main reason for anyone who views Blair negatively is the Iraq War, which has brought ongoing instability to the region. Even Blair himself admitted that he was wrong, but his "mistake" is estimated to have killed around 1 million people.
He was also involved in the four-day bombing campaign against Iraq known as Operation Desert Fox in 1998. Moreover, as Declassified U.K. reveals through archival documents, Blair was consistently informed that military action without U.N. authorization was unlawful, but he told Parliament Britain had “the proper legal authority.” Furthermore, Dr. Brian Jones, the top intelligence analyst on weapons of mass destruction at the Ministry of Defense, told BBC Panorama in 2004 that the defense intelligence staff was not certain that the sites bombed in the operation were active in the production of weapons of mass destruction. After their investigation, the BBC bluntly concluded, “The intelligence was mostly wrong.”
The day he left the prime ministry in 2007, he became the official envoy for the Middle East Quartet (U.S., Russia, European Union and U.N.). His mission was to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He remained in office for eight years. He failed, and the situation worsened. While he was in this position, multiple Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip, which had been placed under siege in 2007, and the ultimate collapse of the so-called Israel-Palestine peace process in 2014 were seen.
Moreover, he was accused of rarely appearing in office and of receiving large payouts through ties to autocrats and big corporations. So, not only was he seen as “Israel's man,” but even some Israelis accused him of being “irrelevant” and inactive.
Blair not only committed massacres himself but also supported others. When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched attacks in Chechnya, he armed Russia. He said it was “important that we support Russia in its action against terrorism.” In 2006, The Times wrote, “Blair has lavished constant praise on Putin." Doing this, he was securing Russian oil for the British corporation BP.
Supporting oppression and oppressors is almost a must for him. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was wanted to be tried for thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of torture incidents. However, the Blair government refused to extradite him to Spain, saying that his health was not suitable for this. In 2000, he delivered him safely to Chile. Subsequently, it was observed that Pinochet "miraculously" recovered. His protection was explained by a Thatcher-era agreement between the U.K. and Argentina in response to Chile's support during the Falklands War. Even though the Chilean authorities made great efforts starting from 1998, Blair did not abandon the dictator.
U.S. President Donald Trump wouldn't even appoint someone with such a poor CV to a simple position within his own company; in fact, he would be furious with the authorities for presenting him with someone known for only making things worse. However, he can make that terrible profile the most prominent candidate for a vast region and a centuries-old issue. Moreover, he’s also known to be critical of the Iraq invasion and those responsible in his country. But still, he praises Blair. This can only be explained by the fact that while Blair failed miserably in his declared duties, he was considered successful in another, concealed role. The hidden purpose is likely to serve Israel's interests.
Blair's friendship and servitude to Israel have been evident for a long time. The person who managed the Labour Leader's Office Fund for the 1997 election campaign was Michael Levy, a leader of the Jewish Leadership Council. In a 2006 publication, the Times described him as “A pillar of British Judaism and a leading international Zionist.” It is stated that Levy donated tens of millions of pounds to Blair’s Labour Party and helped it win the elections.
According to Levy, he and Blair were "like brothers." Upon his help, Blair rewarded Levy with peerage. Levy, who now has the title of "lord," was appointed as his personal envoy to the Middle East in 2000. Levy's son Daniel worked for former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, the BBC reported in 2007. Levy's tax payment of only 5,000 pounds in 1998-1999 was perhaps another reward from Blair. He was arrested for the “Cash for Honors” scandal in 2006-2007. In which it suggested that honors, in particular peerages, were given for money. However, this issue was covered up due to a lack of evidence.
Although the most prominent one was Michael Levy, Blair's involvement with Jewish advisers was not limited to him. So much so that Tam Dalyell, a lawmaker from his party, complained in 2003 that Blair's foreign policy decisions were unduly influenced by a “cabal” of Jewish advisers. He also declared that he was influenced by the Jews in the U.S. Bush administration.
One of the Jewish figures who influenced Blair, Dalyell was referring to at the time, was Peter Mandelson. Mandelson was in the news this year due to his close friendship with pedophile sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, leading to his dismissal from his post as the U.K.'s ambassador to the U.S. It was recently learned that Blair, through Mandelson, also met with Epstein in the prime minister’s office.
Blair's contact with Jewish pedophiles is not limited to this. Although accusations of sexual abuse have been made against Jewish Greville Janner, who was a Labour lawmaker between 1970 and 1997, many victims have emerged over the years since 1955. Some of the victims even committed suicide because they could not stand that Blair had granted him a peerage. Janner was not prosecuted until shortly before he died in 2015. There have also been officers like Mike Creedon, chief constable of Derbyshire, who revealed that the investigation against him was severely restricted while he was alive. The allegations continued after his death. More than 20 men say they were abused by Janner when they were children. Blair, however, defended his decision in 2020, stating that he knew about the allegations, but Janner denied them.
It was alleged in 2014 by the Daily Mirror, which is close to Labour, that he had a pedophile minister in his Cabinet. In fact, there is a study by Joachim Hagopian, more than 100 pages long, which shows that he has many people in his circle who are linked to pedophilia.
Just as he did not speak out against Jewish pedophiles, he was silent on Israeli brutalities. When Israel was carrying out massacres and destruction in Lebanon in 2006, Blair preferred not to criticize Israel, even though some ministers in his Cabinet demanded open condemnation.
He always tried to make Israel stronger. A document dated October 2004, published last August, revealed that the Blair government envisioned Israel establishing deep cooperation with the EU and a special partnership with NATO. Also, he thought of allowing Israel to take over “five main settlement blocs in the West Bank,” according to the document.
He maintained his closeness to Israelis and his work for them even after his term ended. In 2016, Haaretz reported that Blair visited regional countries every two to three weeks to ensure that Arab states to normalize relations with Israel, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at every opportunity.
In 2017, he spoke at a conference in Jerusalem alongside Lord Roderick Balfour, a descendant of Arthur Balfour, who made the Balfour Declaration. Blair stressed that Arab leaders were beginning to stop demonizing Israel.
Israel Hayom reported that he played a key role in the 2020 agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and that Netanyahu had specifically thanked him. According to the report, Blair also praised Netanyahu's leadership, saying, “Relations with Israel needed to become a priority.” In short, Blair had a role in the Abraham Accords.
Israeli Minister Avigdor Liberman, whom he visited in 2021, called him a “good friend.” In 2022, he met with Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the U.K. She mentioned him as “a true friend of Israel.”
In a statement he made in 2019, he even said that the new generation should be told that Zionism is something acceptable, understandable and even supportable. “Israel's security is about our security in the West and it is important that we support Israel,” he said.
While praising and serving Zionism, he did not shy away from making public statements against Islam. In 2013, he said, “There is a problem within Islam.” In 2021, he said, “Islamism, both the ideology and the violence, is a first-order security threat.” In other words, he is someone who wants to raise generations that support Zionism and see Islam as enemy No. 1. Can this man be neutral between Palestinians and Israelis?
Ultimately, it's clear that Blair will strive to please Netanyahu. In that case, even choosing a former Mossad chief like Yossi Cohen, who was appointed by Netanyahu in 2016, would have been seen as more favorable (Obviously, I am saying this to emphasize how bad Blair is!). At the very least, he could publicly criticize and confront Netanyahu. For Blair, even that expectation is out of the question. He is someone who will serve Netanyahu without objection and will struggle to appease the perpetrators of genocide.
Some relatives of British military personnel killed in action in Iraq said, “Blair is the world's worst terrorist.” Appointing someone who lies to even his own country, squanders his people, and is loved by only 11% upon leaving office is a betrayal of humanity.
