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Blair 'honoured' to sit on Gaza board
The Observer
|January 18, 2026
The appointment of Tony Blair to preside over the rehabilitation of Gaza on a "board of peace" has raised eyebrows, including among Palestinians struggling to rebuild their lives in the shattered enclave.
The White House last week named Blair as one of the board's founding executive members, alongside the US secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Blair said he was "honoured" by the appointment. He has not confirmed whether he still intends to accept following Trump's announcement that he will hit the UK, Denmark and other European countries with a 10% tariff on goods until "a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland".
In Gaza, the makeup of the board drew mistrust. "They cooperate with Israel and take orders from Israel," said Mohammed al-Masri, a 23-year-old software developer who is currently displaced and living in Khan Yunis. "They are the ones who approved the genocide that befell us."
Blair in particular was unsuitable to sit on the board, he added, because of his role in the "destruction and plunder of Iraq's wealth".
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 18, 2026-Ausgabe von The Observer.
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