Gaza will calm down, but fall into foreign hands

Israel’s massacre in Gaza is nearing its end. It all began on September 28, when the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 21-point peace plan for Gaza. The plan envisions the release of all hostages held by Hamas and the development of a roadmap for Gaza’s future after the war ends. Hamas, however, has no place in that future. The final stage of this roadmap promises to launch and complete the establishment of a Palestinian state. If Gaza and the West Bank are united and this promise is fulfilled, it will no longer matter who governs the sector. What matters is that 80 years of injustice would come to an end. However, it is difficult to say anything about the future of Gaza, which is expected to fall under the control of Tony Blair — who played one of the most significant roles in reshaping the Middle East at the turn of the century — Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key figure in the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States, and many other Zionists.

Thus, it remains unclear how both sides, especially Hamas, will respond to this plan. The Netanyahu government, which until recently insisted that no Palestinian state would be created, is still “grumbling” to Trump about the plan, while Hamas is expected to reject the provisions on disarmament and removal from governance. Time, however, is running out for both sides. The international community — even the West — is increasing pressure on Israel, while Trump continues to threaten Hamas with “hell.” For this reason, both Netanyahu and the Gaza resistance movement decided to give a positive response to Trump’s plan in a short time. But that does not mean they have agreed to all 21 points of the plan. The negotiations expected to take place in Egypt will clarify the situation. Below is a detailed look at the developments.

21-point plan

On September 26, two days before the Gaza plan was announced, Donald Trump stated that “intensive negotiations” were underway to achieve a ceasefire in the sector. Beaming with optimism, he spoke about the process with great enthusiasm.

“I am pleased to say that we are engaged in inspiring and very constructive discussions with the Middle East community on the Gaza issue. Everyone is excited about the prospect of leaving this era of death and darkness behind. We must bring the hostages back and achieve lasting peace,” the U.S. President wrote on his Truth Social page.

Trump’s plan includes the following points:

1.  Turning Gaza into a territory free of “extremism and terrorism”;
2.  Full reconstruction of the sector;
3.  Ending the war through a mutual agreement and gradually withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza;
4.  Returning all hostages and the bodies of the dead within 48 hours after Israel confirms its readiness for an agreement;
5.  Releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and more than a thousand people detained since the start of the war, as well as handing over the bodies of many Palestinians;
6.  Granting conditional amnesty to Hamas members who wish to leave Gaza;
7.  Allowing at least 600 trucks with humanitarian aid to enter Gaza daily, restoring infrastructure, and clearing debris;
8.  Distributing aid through the UN, the Red Crescent, and neutral international organizations without interference from either side;
9.  Placing Gaza under the temporary governance of Palestinian technocrats supervised by an international body led by the United States, with participation from Arab and European partners;
10. Developing an economic recovery plan for the sector;
11.  Creating an economic zone with tax and customs incentives;
12.  Prohibiting the forced displacement of Palestinians;
13.  Disarming Hamas and eliminating its rule;
14.  Providing security guarantees by regional states;
15.  Establishing a temporary international stabilization structure led by the United States and Arab countries to oversee security and train local police;
16.  Gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces;
17.  The possibility of partially implementing the plan even if Hamas does not cooperate;
18.  Israel’s obligation not to strike Qatar;
19.  Launching programs to neutralize extremist ideologies;
20.  Preparing for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the future;
21.  Initiating broad political dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

It is clear that several points in the plan are unlikely to satisfy either Hamas or Israel. The resistance movement is expected to reject leaving the sector, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly opposed to the clause on establishing a Palestinian state. However, on September 29, after U.S. President Donald Trump met Netanyahu at the White House, he forced the Israeli leader to accept the plan. Netanyahu then announced his acceptance of Trump’s proposal. Following that, Trump gave Hamas until October 5 to accept the offer. He warned the movement’s members that failure to respond positively would result in “hell” unlike anything the world has ever seen.

“An agreement with Hamas must be reached by Sunday at 18:00 (Washington time). Every state has agreed! This is the LAST CHANCE, and if an agreement is not reached, HELL like the world has never seen will begin against Hamas,” Trump wrote.

Hamas accepted, but...

On October 3, Hamas agreed “alive or dead” to release all Israeli hostages in line with the terms of Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal and announced its readiness to begin negotiations through mediators to discuss the details of the agreement. However, the movement’s officials accepted only a few key parts of Trump’s plan and did not comment on the more contentious provisions. Hamas approved points such as ending the war, Israel’s withdrawal, releasing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, organizing aid and reconstruction efforts, and preventing the forced removal of Palestinians from the territory.

At the same time, significant disagreements remain between Hamas’s statement and Trump’s plan over Gaza’s future governance and the role — or lack thereof — Hamas would play in that process. For this reason, Hamas has expressed its desire to hold negotiations on these issues. The movement is primarily opposed to Gaza being governed by foreign politicians in the future and to Hamas itself having no role in Gaza’s administration. In its statement, Hamas emphasized that it considers itself “part of a broad Palestinian national structure.” The group also did not comment on the provision offering amnesty and safe passage to its members if they surrender their weapons.

The transitional foreign administration envisioned by Trump appears, for now, to be rejected by Hamas. The movement declared that it would agree to transfer Gaza’s administration to an “independent Palestinian body based on national consensus and operating with Arab and Islamic support.” It is worth noting that Hamas has made similar proposals in the past. The group also did not comment on the plan to deploy “temporary international stabilization forces” in Gaza, which the United States and Arab countries intend to establish jointly.

The identity of the technocrats expected to govern Gaza during this transitional period is a topic of particular interest. According to the plan, the structure would be led by Donald Trump himself, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to be among its members. However, Blair is reportedly not merely interested in membership — he is seeking to lead this government.

Bloody past returns to the Middle East

The Economist has reported that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is seeking to lead an international transitional government in Gaza. He is described as one of the politicians most eager to shape the enclave’s post-war order once peace is established. According to reports, since October 7, 2023, Blair has visited Jerusalem several times and instructed his London-based foundation to draft a post-war mandate plan for Gaza. Several sources say Blair could head this transitional administration, which aims to obtain a five-year mandate from the United Nations to operate as the “highest political and legal authority” in Gaza.

If Blair’s candidacy is approved, he will oversee a 25-member administrative team and lead a seven-member supervisory council that monitors the executive body governing the enclave. Funding for Blair’s political activities and initiatives in Gaza is expected to come from Gulf states. The transitional governance structure is likely to follow the model of international administrations previously established in East Timor and Kosovo. Initially, the administration would be based in Egypt’s North Sinai region near the Gaza border, later relocating directly into Gaza with the support of an international contingent.

It is worth recalling who Blair is. He was one of the leading figures who turned Iraq — once a cradle of Middle Eastern civilization — into a hellscape and plunged the region into endless wars. In Iraq today, he is remembered with regret and resentment as “the man who deceived us.” Beyond that, he is simply a British politician and statesman, former leader of the Labour Party, and UK Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, who devoted much of his political career to the invasion of Iraq.

Gaza falling into the hands of billionaires and zionists

Earlier this week, a document outlining Gaza’s prospective governance plan under Tony Blair’s leadership circulated online. According to the proposed structure for Gaza’s international transitional administration, governance would be organized as follows:

• At the top – a council composed of international billionaires and business figures.
• Below – carefully vetted Palestinian administrators deemed “neutral.”

This administration is expected to work closely with Israel, Egypt, and the United States, with strong backing from the White House. The proposed international council would wield supreme political and legal authority in Gaza during the transitional period.

The most striking part of a leaked confidential document attributed to Blair is that four individuals are named as potential members of this council — and none of them are Palestinian. One of them is Sigrid Kaag, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, widely regarded in Europe as a respected technocrat. From late 2023 to mid-2025, Kaag served as the UN’s chief coordinator for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza. She previously worked at UN offices in Beirut, Damascus, and Jerusalem, and also served as a minister in her home country, the Netherlands. Kaag’s deep regional experience makes her arguably the most “neutral” name on the list. The other three, however, are likely to raise eyebrows.

They are described as “prominent international figures with executive and financial experience” — billionaire Zionists. Among them is Marc Rowan, owner of one of the largest private investment firms in the United States. According to Bloomberg, Rowan, one of Wall Street’s wealthiest financiers, has a fortune exceeding $10 billion. The 63-year-old Jewish billionaire is the CEO of Apollo Global Management, a company described as a “giant of the private equity world, willing to sacrifice anything for profit.” Apollo currently manages $840 billion in assets, much of it from investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Rowan is an outspoken ultra-pro-Israel advocate. In interviews, he has described himself as “a proud supporter of Israel,” calling the country “a refuge” and stating, “This is a unique, special place — we are the chosen people.” He has sharply criticized pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. university campuses.

Another figure is Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who hails from a family with a fortune estimated at around $10 billion. His father, Onsi Sawiris, founded Orascom, Egypt’s first international conglomerate. The 71-year-old made most of his wealth in telecommunications and was a co-founder of Mobinil (now Orange Egypt), the country’s first mobile operator. He is also heavily involved in the gold industry through La Mancha, a Luxembourg-based holding company.

Sawiris has had close ties with Blair for many years, possibly predating Blair’s tenure as prime minister. In 2020, Blair was invited to the wedding of Sawiris’s son Ansi near the Giza pyramids. In 2013, the two were photographed together near one of the villas owned by Italy’s former president Silvio Berlusconi. They have met multiple times aboard Sawiris’s luxury yacht and private jet, as well as in Cairo and South Africa. Sawiris is known to frequent the Greek island of Mykonos, where he owns property and hosts lavish parties featuring Egyptian musicians and actors.

He was also involved in the post-invasion “reconstruction” of Afghanistan led by the United States and the United Kingdom, working closely with Blair during that period. Due to the UAE’s significant investments and active role in Egypt, Sawiris keeps much of his wealth abroad and maintains close ties with Gulf states — whose “free economic zone” model, similar to Dubai, aligns with Blair’s vision for Gaza.

Another name mentioned is Aryeh Lightstone, CEO of the Abraham Accords Institute. A businessman and rabbi, Lightstone was involved in creating and expanding a Gaza humanitarian fund that, according to reports, served as a front for operations that killed more than 2,000 people and injured thousands more at aid distribution points. The fund was supported by the United States and Israel.

Lightstone previously served as a senior adviser to David Friedman, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and staunch defender of the Jewish settlement movement. He is now a close adviser and assistant to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East. A fierce critic of the UN, Lightstone has participated in developing post-war scenarios for Gaza in collaboration with the White House. According to documents, during UN negotiations when the two-state solution was raised, Lightstone responded, “The time is not right for such a step — the priority must be removing Hamas from the field.”

He is also the author of a book on the Middle East, praised by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — who, incidentally, is also involved in Blair’s plan and has repeatedly spoken about Gaza’s “extremely valuable” coastal potential.

For now, none of these individuals have been officially appointed, nor have they publicly accepted any offers. However, if Blair does become the head of the future international administration in Gaza, it is highly likely that these figures will be among his closest partners.

Serious obstacles remain

On October 3, U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that Israel immediately halt its attacks. Yet even after Trump’s call, the bombardment of Gaza continued. Israeli tanks shelled Talatini Street, one of the main roads in central Gaza City, showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s disregard for Trump’s request. Israeli warplanes also intensified airstrikes in the city, hitting several homes in the Rimal neighborhood. Airstrikes were also reported in Khan Younis.

Journalist Barak Ravid reported that Trump harshly insulted Netanyahu and urged him to “stop complaining.” Domestically, the “Butcher of Gaza” is under mounting pressure. On one side, a war-weary public and the families of hostages are urging him to end the war; on the other, far-right coalition partners are demanding that military operations in Gaza continue. Currently, 48 Israeli hostages remain in captivity, though only 20 are believed to be alive.

Major gaps continue to hinder peace negotiations. Hamas’s response left the question of disarmament and demilitarization unanswered. The group also demanded the full and immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave, rejecting any phased approach. A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera that the movement would not surrender its weapons until the invasion ends — highlighting the deep divide between the two sides.

Nevertheless, negotiations have not stopped. Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence that the process is nearing completion. A representative of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Doha is continuing negotiations on Trump’s plan in coordination with Egypt and the United States. Egypt is expected to host a meeting between Israel and Hamas, with Cairo or Sharm el-Sheikh under consideration as the venue. The Israeli delegation will be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, one of Netanyahu’s closest allies. According to Trump, a ceasefire in Gaza will only come into effect once Hamas fully agrees to his plan — not before.