Overview
- Multiple outlets, citing the Financial Times, report Tony Blair was removed from consideration for a senior seat on the US‑chaired council after objections from Arab and Muslim governments.
- Sources indicate he may serve on a smaller executive committee alongside Jared Kushner and Trump adviser Steve Witkoff.
- Former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov is expected to lead that working group, serving as a bridge between the council and a planned Palestinian technocratic team.
- More than two months after the plan’s debut, no members of the main council have been officially named, core mandates remain unsettled, and no country has publicly pledged troops for the envisioned stabilization force.
- Blair’s associates dispute that regional discontent forced the change, while Hamas welcomed his exclusion and restated opposition to any plan requiring Palestinian factions to disarm.