Day 713 - Tony Blair plans for postwar Gaza, without displacing residents
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Magid discusses the draft of a developed proposal, formed by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, regarding a transitional body for post-war Gaza. He notes that Israel is still engaging with this topic and that the proposal does not call for the displacement of Gazans.
As security talks in the UK between Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Israel continue, Magid says an announcement could be within days, possibly coinciding with al-Sharaa's upcoming appearance at the United Nations.
The long-running 'pay-to-slay' program for the Palestinian Authority that critics claimed incentivized terror attacks against Israelis is over, according to Magid, with a new program instituted to pay people based on economic need. There haven't been any payments yet as the PA is out of cash and relies on revenues that Israel collects on its behalf, which Israel has been withholding over various issues.
After US Senator Bernie Sanders used the term genocide to refer to the ongoing war in Gaza, Magid discusses that Sanders has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Revealed: Tony Blair’s US-backed proposal for ending the Gaza war and replacing Hamas
PA document shows ‘pay-to-slay’ has been scrapped, new system in place
Hostage families camp outside PM’s home amid rumored start to Gaza City ground op
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IMAGE: Former British Prime Minister and Middle East envoy Tony Blair (center) visits Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip, in his first visit to the Hamas-run enclave since being appointed, March 1, 2009. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It is Thursday, September 18th, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. I'm speaking today with U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Magid. Hi, Jacob. How you doing? |
| 0:15.1 | Hey, Jessica. Good to be with you again. Good to have you here. It is day 713 of the war. |
| 0:21.4 | As the IDF continues its ground offensive in Gaza City, |
| 0:24.7 | and as hostage family members continue sleeping in an encampment outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence, |
| 0:34.0 | Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was set to meet U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff in London Wednesday night in another effort, a last-ditch effort, to revive ceasefire negotiations and hostage talks. |
| 0:48.2 | Meanwhile, we have in our headlines that Israel and Syria are in talks with the help of U.S. mediation in London in order to reach |
| 0:57.4 | security understandings. And also, by chance in London, British Prime Minister Kier Starrmer |
| 1:03.4 | plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state after U.S. President Donald Trump completes |
| 1:10.0 | his state visit to the U.K., his upcoming state visit. We'll discuss some of that, as well as Jacobs' exclusive about former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's U.S.-backed proposal for ending the war in Gaza and replacing Hamas. Stay with us. |
| 1:37.9 | Nothing has given me such delight as the proposal to establish a Hebrew university in Jerusalem. More than a century has passed since Albert Einstein wrote this in his diary. |
| 1:43.7 | A century of cutting-edge research and innovation |
| 1:46.0 | at Israel's leading academic institution that Einstein, |
| 1:50.1 | alongside many other luminaries, helped establish. |
| 1:53.5 | Join me, Gilad Halpern, for The View from Mount Scopus, |
| 1:56.7 | a podcast series exploring the past, present and future of the Hebrew University. |
| 2:01.8 | The view from Mounts Copus. |
| 2:03.5 | Available wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 2:12.7 | Okay, so Jacob, as we speak, you are completing your story about this. You obtained documents |
| 2:21.6 | about this U.S. back proposal, Blair's U.S. back proposal for ending the war in Gaza and replacing |
| 2:27.5 | Kamaas, which you and I discussed a few weeks ago when there was the sit down in the White |
| 2:31.6 | House. This looks a lot more definitive, much more advanced than what we had discussed then. |
| 2:40.0 | Tell us how this came about, clearly. |
... |
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