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Blair to meet Palestinian leader | Blair to meet Palestinian leader |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Tony Blair is to meet the president of the Palestinian Authority on the second day of his visit to the Middle East. | Tony Blair is to meet the president of the Palestinian Authority on the second day of his visit to the Middle East. |
The prime minister's meeting with Mahmoud Abbas comes a day after he met the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. | The prime minister's meeting with Mahmoud Abbas comes a day after he met the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. |
Mr Olmert said he was ready to meet the Palestinian leader to advance peace efforts. It follows Mr Abbas's calls for fresh negotiations with Israel. | |
Mr Blair will not be meeting the leaders of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government. | Mr Blair will not be meeting the leaders of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government. |
Britain, like the rest of the EU, is boycotting the Hamas administration. | Britain, like the rest of the EU, is boycotting the Hamas administration. |
The prime minister's visit to the Middle East comes amid the continuing row over when he leaves office. | |
There is a widespread contempt for Mr Blair among Palestinians BBC correspondent Alan Johnston href="/1/hi/uk_politics/5331590.stm" class="">Brown offers challenge to critics | |
Mr Blair said the stability of the Middle East was essential to the rest of the world, including the UK. | |
Speaking of the recent Lebanon conflict, Mr Blair said he wanted to work to make sure the UN resolution which ended the conflict was fully implemented. | |
Mr Olmert said he was ready to begin talks with Mr Abbas to advance peace efforts. | |
The EU has insisted Hamas recognises Israel's right to exist before there can be any dialogue with the administration. | |
But Hamas argues the real problem has been Mr Blair's attachment to the US, which it says views the Middle East from Israel's perspective. | |
BBC news correspondent Alan Johnston said Mr Abbas's camp would "welcome Mr Blair's efforts to re-energise the peace process". | |
But he added: "There is a widespread contempt for Mr Blair among Palestinians. | But he added: "There is a widespread contempt for Mr Blair among Palestinians. |
"They regard him as having done virtually nothing to support their efforts to end the Israeli occupation here." | "They regard him as having done virtually nothing to support their efforts to end the Israeli occupation here." |