A recently leaked, 21-page document reveals a detailed plan to establish an international transitional authority for managing the Gaza Strip after the war, led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The plan, formulated by a team associated with Blair's office and American-Israeli circles close to the Trump administration, proposes an international governmental framework that would operate in Gaza for 3 to 5 years, until control is transferred to a "reformed" Palestinian authority.
The document, titled "Gaza International Transitional Authority" (GITA), details the proposed governmental structure, identifies the key figures expected to fill senior positions, and outlines the accompanying economic and security plan.
Symbolic Palestinian representative
At the heart of the plan stands the establishment of an international board of directors comprising 7 to 10 members, including businesspeople, diplomats, and economic experts. Tony Blair would head the board as general coordinator or executive president, and it would be responsible for making all central decisions regarding policy, security, and economy in the Strip.
The authority's temporary headquarters is expected to be located in al-Arish, Egypt or Doha, Qatar. Blair, 72, who previously served as the Quartet's Middle East envoy between 2007 and 2015, has emerged as an active behind-the-scenes player in recent months. He met with Arab leaders, participated in the major White House meeting on Gaza's future, and even met with President Trump and his senior advisers, including Jared Kushner, last August, to discuss possibilities for Gaza's rehabilitation.
The document details the names of the senior figures designated to fill key positions in the authority. Alongside Blair, Sigrid Kaag from the Netherlands (former Dutch deputy prime minister) would serve as deputy president for humanitarian affairs, Marc Rowan from the US as chairman of the rehabilitation fund, Naguib Sawiris from Egypt, who would be responsible for regional investments, and Aryeh Lightstone, holding dual Israeli-American citizenship, as representative of the Abraham Accords.
Additionally, the plan mentions a Palestinian representative whose name is not disclosed "for symbolic reasons," but emphasizes that he would not have real executive powers. This structure reflects the approach whereby actual management would be in the hands of international factors, while Palestinian representation would remain, often in a symbolic capacity only.
Beneath the international board would operate a layer of "neutral" Palestinian managers, chosen from among professional and non-partisan figures. These would be responsible for managing the public sectors – health, education, municipalities, and additional services – but would work under direct supervision of the international board and would be subject to ongoing auditing by an international committee. Simultaneously, a local advisory council would be established, comprising Palestinian figures from Gaza and the West Bank, but its role would be advisory only, without any real executive authority.
Investors taking profits
The economic dimension of the plan is based on establishing an international fund called "Gaza Rehabilitation and Investment Fund," which would be managed by the businesspeople detailed in the document. The fund is expected to be financed through donations from Gulf states, primarily Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Western investments, and internationally guaranteed loans. The operational model would be business-profit oriented – companies would invest in rehabilitation and infrastructure projects and would participate in the profits generated.
In the security realm, the plan establishes the creation of a multinational security force under UN auspices or a US-led coalition, with an absolute prohibition on any Palestinian armed faction in Gaza during the transition period. Palestinian security forces would be reorganized under international supervision, and the transitional authority would have full power to appoint judges, ministers and heads of security bodies. The document emphasizes that the authority would fill all powers – executive, legislative and judicial – and that no Palestinian body could cancel its decisions.
The proposed timeline includes a three-month preparation phase, during which the authority would be established and its members selected, followed by an initial six-month deployment phase, during which actual management would begin. The rehabilitation phase, expected to last two to three years, will focus on extensive infrastructure projects. After approximately five years, a gradual transfer of governance to a "reformed" Palestinian authority is anticipated – a term whose exact meaning remains unclear.
