Gaza after the war: Blair and Kushner lead the American "commercial peace" project.

Washington – "Al-Quds" dot com - Said Arikat 

With the start of the ceasefire sponsored by the United States between Israel and Hamas on October 10, the administration of President Donald Trump is moving towards what it calls the "new peace plan," which is essentially a massive economic project for the reconstruction of Gaza and transforming it into an attractive investment area for global capital.

This "peace" is not based on political reconciliation as much as it bets on the "opportunities" left by the destruction, through giant real estate and commercial projects led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, while Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, returns to a position of influence as the de facto commissioner for post-war management, putting his experience in the "Deal of the Century" and normalization agreements to serve the "peace through development" project.

Blair: From the Iraq War to the "Peace Council" in Gaza

Since the war on Iraq and its occupation in 2003, Blair has not left the Middle Eastern stage. He led Britain into war based on claims of weapons of mass destruction, earning him the reputation of a "war criminal." Today, after two decades, he returns to oversee what is called the "Peace Council" in Gaza, tasked with managing the economic reconstruction of the afflicted sector.

When he was a special envoy for the Quartet in 2009, he boasted of securing Israel's approval for a new Palestinian telecommunications company, but documents revealed that the deal included a Palestinian concession to drop the case of Israeli war crimes at the United Nations after the "Cast Lead" operation. That incident early on revealed how justice is replaced by deals, and politics by investment.

"Making Gaza Safe for American Capitalism"

After leaving the premiership, Blair immersed himself in a complex network of business and consulting, serving as a consultant for JPMorgan with a million-dollar annual salary, and for companies like PetroSaudi and Zurich Insurance for hefty commissions, while simultaneously being a peace envoy.

In 2017, he consolidated his charitable and business institutions under one umbrella, the "Tony Blair Institute for Global Change" (TBI), which expanded to include about 900 employees in 45 countries, with revenues exceeding $145 million by 2022.

His opponents criticize the institute as an "international lobby" serving the interests of major corporations and wealthy states, using titles like "good governance" and "digital transformation." Reports confirm that representatives of the institute participated in a meeting last July to discuss visions for "post-war Gaza," which included plans to transform the sector into a "special economic zone" featuring projects like "Trump Riviera" and "smart manufacturing zones" similar to Elon Musk's projects. The most alarming proposal involves "compensating half a million Palestinians to leave Gaza" to prepare the ground for real estate investors.

Money and Technology: The Alliance of Interests

Behind Blair's expansion are major funders, most notably Larry Ellison, the extreme Zionist who recently bought TikTok, and the founder of the giant Oracle Corporation, who donated about $300 million to the Blair Institute. Ellison, known for his close ties to Israel, has funded controversial projects, including support for the occupation army and financing excavations in occupied East Jerusalem.

Blair promotes digital projects in health and education as tools for transparency, but in practice, they expand the dominance of donor corporations and open the door to the privatization of public sectors – and Gaza could be the next stop.

This trend reflects Blair's vision for the "post-conflict" phase, where rubble turns into investment opportunities, and afflicted communities are managed as profitable economic projects under international supervision.

Jared Kushner Returns to the Forefront

In this context, Jared Kushner returns to play the role he excels at: turning politics into investment.

Kushner, who crafted the "Deal of the Century" (2020) under Netanyahu's instructions and contributed to normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, is now seeking to integrate Gaza into his broader "peace through development" project, benefiting from his network of relations in Silicon Valley and the Gulf.

Through his real estate companies and investment funds, he is working to attract capital to develop projects in Gaza and link them to the Israeli economic system, so that the region becomes subject to indirect American-Israeli oversight.

While Blair takes center stage as the "international director," Kushner works behind the scenes "as the engineer" ensuring the continuity of American influence and corporate interests in controlling Gaza's natural resources, foremost among them the offshore gas that has been a point of contention