The momentum created by the Board of Peace\u2019s September 2025 roll-out helped pave the way for a hostage release and ceasefire deal the next month, as both Israel and Hamas felt unprecedented global pressure to end their war after over two years.<\/p>\n
But since that initial truce, efforts to advance subsequent parts of US President Donald Trump\u2019s 20-point plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip \u2014 which the Board of Peace was established to promote \u2014 have largely stalled.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The Trump plan envisions Hamas handing over its weapons and control of Gaza to a new government of Palestinian technocrats, while internal and multinational security forces phase out the Israel Defense Forces, under the auspices of the Board of Peace.<\/p>\n \t Talks on disarming Hamas have extended for months with little breakthrough, while Israel has moved to expand its military presence in Gaza, with the Strip\u2019s population of some 2 million squeezed into decrepit conditions in a Hamas-ruled area that amounts to roughly one-third of the territory.<\/p>\n The US believes Hamas compliance with a phased disarmament program, in which each step will be verified by international arbitrators and sees mutual Israeli concessions, is the key to unlocking major international funding and construction projects for Gaza.<\/p>\n But Mideast mediators believe that as elections approach in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government is very unlikely<\/a> to take subsequent steps to ease its control of Gaza, even if Hamas were to accept the Board of Peace\u2019s disarmament proposal first \u2014 a prospect that itself appears low. Israeli buy-in would mean allowing for the entry of alternative governing and security bodies in Gaza, where large parts of Netanyahu\u2019s coalition want to establish settlements.<\/p>\n It is against this backdrop that Blair will begin taking on a larger role.<\/p>\n He has already been serving on the Board of Peace\u2019s Executive Board, as well as the Board of Peace\u2019s Gaza Executive Board that is focused specifically on the Strip, but neither of those has actually been operating since they were unveiled by the White House in January, according to the three sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n Many of the Gaza Executive Board members have been involved in mediating between Hamas and Israel in recent months, but the panel has not functioned as a unit, the sources said.<\/p>\n One of Blair\u2019s new tasks will be to help manage the Board of Peace and its various bodies. Mladenov will continue operating as the high representative for Gaza with his own office, the sources said.<\/p>\n \t Blair will also take on an elevated role with regard to the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, two of the sources said.<\/p>\n He has already been engaging regularly with the Palestinian Authority on a reform process, so that it can eventually take over Gaza and hold peace talks with Israel, as envisioned by the 20-point plan.<\/p>\n Blair will continue his contact with the PA as his Board of Peace portfolios expand, the three sources said.<\/p>\n Blair\u2019s Institute for Global Change has also run training sessions for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the technocratic panel that is supposed to replace Hamas in Gaza. The NCAG has been stuck in Cairo for months, though, as the Board of Peace\u2019s progress has stalled.<\/p>\n The institute will continue serving as a resource for the Board of Peace, one of the sources said.<\/p>\n A public announcement regarding Blair\u2019s expanded work is not expected, and his office declined to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\t\t\t
\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/p>\n For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260219__988A4CM__v1__HighRes__UsPoliticsDiplomacyTrump-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer British Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) attends the inaugural Board of Peace meeting hosted by US President Donald Trump at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026. (Saul Loeb\/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2025-12-10-at-4.14.17\u202fPM-e1765404945906-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer UK prime minister Tony Blair meets with Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh in Ramallah on November 23, 2025. (Hussein al-Sheikh\/Facebook)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tWe can’t do this work alone.\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_5258-200x200.jpeg\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/334x334-200x200.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n