How similar yesterday is today... In recent hours, we've heard about the nomination of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead a proposed plan to end the war in Gaza and become the de facto ruler of the Strip for a transitional period. Not long ago, after the war on Iraq, the American Paul Bremer took on the same task, and what happened in Iraq was something no one but the Americans and their allies had ever wished for. The declared goal at the time was a democratic transition in Iraq. Now, it's Gaza's turn, under a new name with glamour and brilliance.
Here, the question arises: Who benefits from this plan? Another question is: Why don't we learn from the lessons of the past and from our mistakes? Especially since current generations have witnessed the consequences of Bremer's plan to govern Iraq.
These questions arise at a time when international pressure is mounting to stop the war in the Gaza Strip. The name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has emerged at the forefront of political proposals, after press reports revealed an initiative he is leading to assume a transitional administration in the Gaza Strip after the end of the fighting, as part of a plan supported by figures close to US President Donald Trump. According to The Telegraph and The Economist, Blair, 72, offered to head a transitional government in Gaza, with administration eventually handed over to the Palestinian Authority, which governed the territory until 2006.
The plan stipulates that the transitional phase would not involve any displacement of Palestinians. Rather, it would establish a temporary body, the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita), to be overseen by the United Nations for several years before transferring governance to the Palestinian Authority after introducing fundamental reforms.
A copy of the draft proposal, reported by The Times of Israel, indicates that Gita would be considered "the supreme political and legal authority for Gaza during the transitional phase." It would include at least one Palestinian representative, along with senior UN officials, international economic experts, and "a strong Muslim representation."
According to The Economist, the idea was based on previous experiences in East Timor and Kosovo, with Gita likely to be based in the Egyptian city of Arish. The plan also calls for the reunification of the West Bank and Gaza before handing the territories over to the Palestinian Authority, which has yet to announce its approval.
The initiative received support from Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and former advisor, and Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, who proposed the idea during a meeting at the White House on August 27. According to press reports, Trump endorsed the plan before presenting it to the leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and five Arab countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, saying, "Maybe we can end the war now."
After leaving office, Tony Blair served until 2015 as special envoy to the Middle East Quartet, a body comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia, which sought to mediate the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. According to reports, Trump gave Blair two weeks to secure regional support for his plan during a White House meeting in August, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia as a pivotal player in any future settlement.
Data released by Blair's Institute claimed that more than a quarter of Gazans support some form of international intervention in the post-war administration of the Strip, while a third prefer a direct role for the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Thursday that his administration is "prepared" to assume "governance and security" in Gaza, indicating that Hamas will have no role in the next phase. In contrast, the movement is demanding non-military representation, including in areas such as education.
The plans for governing Gaza today are a repetition of a scenario implemented long ago in Iraq, when the US administration appointed an American diplomat, Paul Bremer, to serve as the civilian administrator of Iraq as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority from mid-May 2003 to June 2004, following the US invasion of Iraq. Initially, on May 6, 2003, US President George W. Bush appointed him as head of the civilian administration charged with overseeing the reconstruction of Iraq, succeeding retired General Jay Garner, director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, who worked under then-US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In June of the same year, the office was transformed into an official entity known as the Coalition Provisional Authority, with Bremer becoming the highest executive authority in Iraq.
During his tenure, Bremer issued a number of controversial decisions and laws, which resulted in radical changes that continue to impact Iraq's political and security landscape to this day.
In conclusion, if we do not learn the lessons of the past, the scenario will be repeated, and future generations will be marked by the repeated mistakes they made. This is despite the fact that the Holy Quran repeatedly asks us to think and reason, stating in many verses, "Will you not reason?" "Will you not reflect?" "O ​​you of understanding."