By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday questioned whether former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would serve on a new “Board of Peace” that is intended to oversee the governance of Gaza, amid ongoing criticisms of Blair for his role in the Iraq War.
“I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,” Trump said, without naming specific leaders who could be weighing in on his choice of Blair.
A Gaza peace plan floated by the White House last month listed Blair as a member of the proposed board.
Trump made his remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight to Israel, where he is scheduled to address the Knesset on Monday. He is also planning to attend a world leaders’ summit in Egypt aimed at formally ending the Gaza war, as a ceasefire now enters its fourth day.
Israelis are awaiting the planned release of 20 remaining hostages still alive and being held by Hamas since October 7, 2023, when the militant group’s attacks triggered the devastating Gaza war.
The Board of Peace will get up and running quickly, Trump said, but he sounded uncertain about whether Blair would be well received by everyone involved.
“I want to find out that Tony would be popular with all because I just don’t know that,” Trump said.
The notion of putting Blair on the board sparked disbelief among Palestinian politicians and analysts, and among members of his own Labour Party in Britain, where his reputation suffered from his decision to back the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Following that U.S.-led invasion, the claims by the United States and Britain that Iraq held weapons of mass destruction were ultimately shown to be false.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Cowan; Editing by Sergio Non and Michael Perry)
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