Middle East News
British papers say Blair to become Middle East peace envoy
Jun 26, 2007, 6:51 GMT
London - Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to be made an international Middle East peace envoy, responsible for preparing negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, British press reports said Tuesday.
The role for the 54-year-old British leader, who is due to step down as prime minister Wednesday, is to be announced later Tuesday following a meeting by the so-called Middle East quartet in Jerusalem, the Guardian and the Times newspapers said.
His role would involve working with the Palestinians over security, economy and governance.
He would be working from an office in Jerusalem, and possibly another in the West Bank, as the special representative for the Middle East quartet of UN, EU, US and Russia.
The arrangement, which has been prepared for weeks, was due to be agreed at a meeting of the quartet Tuesday, said the Guardian.
The idea of Blair doing this job is understood to have originated with the prime minister himself in conversation with US President George W Bush, who then suggested it to the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is said to be a keen supporter and Washington was reported Monday night to have mounted 'an enormous push' to ensure Blair got the post, said the Guardian.
However, reports have also said that Russia, and to an extent also fellow-members of the European Union (EU), were sceptical about the job for Blair, considering his record as a staunch supporter of US policy in Iraq and the wider Middle East.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Ken HallJun 26th, 2007 - 08:38:39
How can Tony Blair have any credibility in Palestine?
He supported starving the elected Hamas governing party into submission, causing their recent civil war against the unelected Fatah.
Presumably, he will be working with the unelected, illegitimate Fatah and the Israelis and the US to sacrifice the Palestinians even further. The west spent many many years trying to encourage the Palestinians to embrace democracy and hold elections, and when they did, the west refused to accept the outcome, because the people had the cheek and audacity to vote for their own free choice of leadership and they elected Hamas. Hamas would not renounce violence, nor recognize Israel. Israel would not renounce violence nor recognize Palestine either, so? the Hamas leadership has signaled that it would be willing to recognize Israel and renounce violence, if Israel would recognize Palestine as per the internationally agreed legal 1967 boundaries as set out in many UN resolutions. Israel had no intention of having a peaceful relationship with Palestine, unless that relationship includes the surrender and slavery of Palestine within the current apartheid system. Hamas won the election. Who else was going to defend Palestinian interests? Israel has a huge army, navy, air force, chemical, biological and nuclear weaponry and the sworn subservience of the US military to defend her. She is not the victim anymore. She is the strongest defended territory on earth. Who stands up for Palestine?
My own personal opinion is that the Palestinians are a bunch of terrorists. but then, so are the Israelis. They are equally as bad as each other and all the other nations should withdraw all support for BOTH nations until such time as they both seek a genuine peace with all their neighbors. That means all financial and military support completely.
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