BoP’s Blair meets Herzog, Netanyahu in Israel as US pushes to revive Gaza reconstruction plan

Former British prime minister Tony Blair, a senior representative of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, met separately with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday as Washington intensified efforts to revive its stalled plan the rebuild the Gaza Strip.Blair met with Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem between rounds of Herzog's consultations with political parties following last week's election to the 26th Knesset.Blair is also expected to meet Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot on Friday, according to KAN News.Blair arrived in Israel for a series of meetings with senior officials aimed at advancing the next stages of Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

His visit comes amid continued American pressure to move forward with the initiative, despite a prolonged deadlock in negotiations with Hamas and ongoing IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip.During his visit, Blair is expected to discuss ways to advance the initial stages of the American framework, including the entry of a Palestinian technocratic committee into Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. Both measures are intended to establish alternative governing and security arrangements as part of the broader reconstruction effort.

The proposed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would oversee civilian administration and the restoration of essential services, while the international force would be tasked with helping establish security arrangements during the transition.