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 proposal developed by former UK prime minister Tony Blair for a transitional body for postwar 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 come within days, possibly coinciding with al-Sharaa’s upcoming appearance at the United Nations.

The long-running Palestinian Authority “pay-to-slay” program that critics claimed incentivized terror attacks against Israelis is over, according to Magid, with a new program instituted to hand out benefits to 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 notes that Sanders has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel.

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

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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Jessica Steinberg: Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing. It is Thursday, September 18, and I’m Jessica Steinberg.

I’m speaking today with US Bureau Chief Jacob Magid.

Hi, Jacob. How are you doing?

Jacob Magid: Hey, Jessica. Good to be with you again.

Jessica Steinberg: Good to have you here. It is day 713 of the war. As the IDF continues its ground offensive in Gaza City and as hostage family members continue sleeping in an encampment outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was set to meet US [Special] Envoy [for the Middle East] Steve Witkoff in London Wednesday night in another effort, a last-ditch effort, to revive ceasefire negotiations and hostage talks.

Meanwhile, we have in our headlines that Israel and Syria are in talks with the help of US mediation in London in order to reach security understandings.

And also, by chance, in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state after US President Donald Trump completes his state visit to the UK, his upcoming state visit.

We’ll discuss some of that, as well as Jacob’s exclusive about former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s US-backed proposal for ending the war in Gaza and replacing Hamas. Stay with us.

Okay, so Jacob, as we speak, you are completing your story about this. You obtained documents about this US-backed proposal, Blair’s US-backed proposal for ending the war in Gaza and replacing Hamas, which you and I discussed a few weeks ago when there was the sit-down in the White House. This looks a lot more definitive, much more advanced than what we had discussed then. Tell us how this came about. Clearly, if it’s getting out there, then there’s something much more advanced about the whole plan. So what can you tell us?

Jacob Magid: I don’t know if those behind the plan necessarily wanted it leaked, but that’s where we are at the moment. I was able to gain a few more details about how this proposal came about.

As you mentioned, the White House on August 27, when Tony Blair and Jared Kushner [who served as a senior advisor during Trump’s first administration] were meeting with President Trump about this post-war plan for Gaza, the White House subsequently downplayed the policy, called it a simple policy discussion, and not too much was heard about what had unfolded or what was the result of the meeting.

But what I’ve been able to learn in parallel with obtaining this document of what the Blair plan actually is, is that it was a pretty significant decision by President Trump at the time to basically give Blair his blessing to try to rally support in the region via Israel, the PA, others, Saudi Arabia, for this plan. And that’s what he’s been trying to do since.

The people behind the plan would say there has been some success, that Blair has met with Abu Mazen, the Palestinian Authority president, who is engaging constructively, I was told, that the Israelis as well, Dermer and Netanyahu, are also engaging constructively, and that this is the only plan that actually has engagement from........

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