Tony Blair’s return to Middle East diplomacy reopens old wounds and new doubts

#Tony #Blairs #return #Middle #East #diplomacy #reopens #wounds #doubts

When Tony Blair was first entrusted with the task of establishing lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians in 2007, the White House warned that the former British Prime Minister was not “Superman” and “he did not have a cap”.

After failing to get too much notes in this role, Blair is preparing to deal with the most complex conflict in the world once again after US President Donald Trump agreed to serve in a committee to run Gaza.

Blair’s involvement gave rise to disbelief among Palestinian politicians and analysts, and among many participants at the annual Labor Party’s annual conference in the UK, George W. Bush’s decision to attack Iraq in 2003 ended its reputation forever.

But potential appointments – if this plan goes ahead – some former diplomats and colleagues welcomed him who argued that Blair relied on the United States, Israelis, and many states of the Gulf – and that it was difficult to find anyone who could unite all parties.

Some people who supported the role pointed out that as the British Prime Minister, he also played a key role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, after 30 years of sectarian violence.

Hamas has no character for Blair

Hamas official Tahir al -Nuno rejected any role for Blair, saying that the group would not accept the implementation of “foreign patronage on our people”.

“Our people are more eligible to manage their affairs,” he said.

Blair was included in Trump’s 20 -point peace proposal for Gaza, which will end the war between Israel and Hamas militants, and will play a role in the “Board of Peace” of international caretakers, headed by Trump and will be included in an unconstitutional role.

Trump said Blair had asked to join the board and described him as a “very good man”.

Blair’s office refused to comment further on any role, but issued a statement saying that the proposal is a “bold and intelligent plan” that provides the best opportunity to end the war.

The 72 -year -old spent 10 years as Prime Minister in the UK, and hours after his departure in 2007, he was named as the Middle East envoy, represented by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union, which promoted the construction of Palestinian institutions and promoting economic development.

But the purpose of achieving the resolution of the two states of negotiations did not make any progress in 2014 and patience peace talks ended. Many Palestinians are still skeptical of them for the role of mediation, which they saw in favor of Israel.

Since his retirement in 2015, he has launched the Tony Blair Institute, which advises governments, and Oracle’s founder, Larry Allison, has received financial support. Blair has also been a consultant with JP Morgan since 2008, sitting on the US Bank’s largest international council, which advises GeoPolitics.

Blair criticizes Iraq as being very close to Israel

Hani Al -Masri, an observer of Palestinian politics in Ramullah, said that Blair’s past record could make Palestinians angry, who consider it biased to the United States and Israel, and, like many Arabs, see the invasion of Iraq as a war crime.

“Tony Blair is one of the things that is ridiculous,” he said. “His reputation among the Palestinians is dark.”

A Middle East diplomat attended the Labor Conference when asked about Blair’s involvement when he was asked about: “Very poisonous”.

But a former British ambassador who worked under the Blair in the region, said it was wrong to see Blair as biased about Israel, just because he understood that Israel’s elected leaders would need to be acceptable.

“He understands that for all his mistakes, Israel is a democracy. You have to work with Israel for a better or worse – and in recent years, worse – but he’s ready to do so.”

The supporter cited Blair’s ‘Ability to Bridge’

Blair’s spokesman, Tom Kelly, when the Prime Minister said that anyone in the Middle East has been looking for a global popular personality “for a very long time”, but this Blair has the ability to understand all the point of view and paint a better future image.

Labor Middle East Council Director, Miran Hassan, who came to the UK from Iraq in 1999, told Reuters that although he would not be popular to say, but Blair could still be a good choice.

“They are capable of eliminating diplomatic relations at an incredibly senior level where decisions can be made,” he said. “I think it will be beneficial.”

But within the Center Left Party, many lawmakers and supporters that Blair did not once see the role of Blair in Iraq under the leadership of the LED.

Kim Johnson, a working member of Parliament, told Reuters that he believed his involvement was “provocative and unpleasant. He is a completely wrong person for the job who is trying to find peace.”