‘The devil’s brother cannot govern Gaza’: Hamas rejects new US role for Tony Blair

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas censures Washington’s reported plan to name former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as the Gaza Strip governor, stressing that the people of Palestine can manage their own affairs.

Senior Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran wrote on the social media platform Telegram on Monday that including Blair in any ceasefire initiative “is an ominous sign for the Palestinian people.”

Badran was responding to a report by the Israeli daily Haaretz that the US is considering Blair’s possible appointment as part of post-Israeli war arrangements for Gaza.

Calling Blair “the devil’s brother,” he added that instead of being considered for interim governorship of Gaza, “[he] deserves to stand before international courts for his crimes, especially his role in the war on Iraq (2003–2011).”

Badran further described Blair as a figure who “has brought nothing good to the Palestinian cause, the Arabs or the Muslims, noting that his "criminal, destructive role has been well known for years.”

He emphasized that administering Palestinian affairs in Gaza or the West Bank is solely a Palestinian matter and should be decided through national consensus, not dictated by regional or international actors.

“The Palestinian people are capable of managing themselves; we have the resources and expertise to run our own affairs and our relations with the region and the world,” he stated.

He said that Hamas has no intention of ruling Gaza or Palestine without the participation of other Palestinian groups, adding that even before December 2023, and the escalation of the Israeli genocide, the group had informed other Palestinian factions and organizations of this position.

The Times of Israel reported on September 17 that Blair has prepared a detailed proposal, backed by US President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to establish a so-called Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA).

The body would temporarily administer the coastal territory after the war before transferring power to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

According to Blair’s plan, an international board of 7–10 members, including a Palestinian delegate, UN and international figures, as well as representatives of regional states, would be created to issue binding decisions and approve legislation.

The proposal boldly envisions disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.

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Hamas has not received new ceasefire proposal

On the ceasefire negotiations, Badran reported, “We have not received any official proposal through mediators, which is the usual channel for such initiatives.”

He stressed that any information circulating “comes only through the media, whether attributed to Trump or others.”

He pointed out that this is not the first time Washington, in coordination with the Israeli regime, has floated ideas and initiatives that later require time to be finalized and formally delivered through mediators.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Hamas said that ceasefire negotiations have been suspended since Israel’s failed assassination attempt against Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, on September 9 and that no new proposals have been received since then.

This follows Trump’s presentation last Tuesday of a 21-point plan to Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, aimed at ending Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

On August 18, Hamas accepted a mediator proposal for a partial ceasefire and prisoner exchange, but Israel failed to respond, despite the plan mirroring an earlier initiative put forward by US West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff and approved by Tel Aviv.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal campaign against Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 168,000, most of them women and children.

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