By Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) – Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh said Sunday he met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss “the day after” the Israeli war in Gaza and ways to advance US President Donald Trump’s efforts to establish “lasting peace” in the region.
The meeting emphasized Palestinian readiness “to work with Trump, Blair, and other international partners to solidify a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries, release hostages and prisoners, and move toward recovery and reconstruction,” Al-Sheikh wrote on the US social media company X.
He underscored the importance of halting measures that undermine the Palestinian Authority, including the return of withheld Palestinian tax revenues, and preventing actions that threaten the two-state solution, as part of efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in line with international legitimacy.
Blair is set to be part of an interim authority in Gaza under Trump’s plan to end the two-year Israeli war on the territory.
"President Trump has put down a bold and intelligent plan which, if agreed, can end the war and bring immediate relief to Gaza, the chance of a brighter and better future for its people, while ensuring Israel’s absolute and enduring security and the release of all hostages,” Blair said last month.
"It offers us the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering, and I thank President Trump for his leadership, determination and commitment.”
Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.
A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the deployment of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,600 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.