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Tony Blair resigns as Middle East peace envoy – report Tony Blair resigns as Middle East peace envoy
(35 minutes later)
Tony Blair has resigned as envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators after nearly eight years in the job, the Associated Press is reporting, ending a term that began with great promise but which struggled to deliver dramatic changes in its quest to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Tony Blair will step down next month as special representative of the Quartet of the international powers seeking a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, after making little headway for nearly eight years and amid near-constant controversy about his role.
Officials in Jerusalem told AP that the former British prime minister had written a letter to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to confirm his resignation. Officials in Jerusalem said the former British prime minister had written to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to confirm his resignation.
The quartet, which consists of the UN, the EU, Russia and the US, appointed Blair in 2007 with the goal of helping develop the Palestinian economy and institutions. The mission was meant to prepare the groundwork for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a peace agreement. Sources close to the work of the Quartet said that its representatives would meet later on Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the implications of Blair’s resignation, including whether he would be replaced and the future of his office. They insisted, however, that Blair would not be “disappearing from the scene” and would continue to work in a personal capacity in the Middle East to foster peace.
But Blair quickly found himself fighting small battles with Israel over the movement of Palestinian goods and people. With peace efforts stalled, the goal of a two-state solution remains as elusive as ever. Blair took on the Middle East job shortly after he left Downing Street in June 2007, and was given the task of helping develop the Palestinian economy and improve governance. But he struggled from the start.
There have long been concerns about a potential for a conflict between Blair’s role in peace negotiations in the Middle East and his business interests, since he advises a number of foreign governments. Critics in Britain in particular focused on hisresponsibility for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and while Palestinians initially welcomed the appointment of such a high-profile figure, he quickly became seen as being too close to the Israelis, who were then, as now, far more powerful than the Palestinians still living under occupation.
Last year, a group of former British ambassadors joined a campaign calling for Blair to be removed from his role as Middle East envoy, raising objections to the possible clash with his business interests and attempts to “absolve himself” of responsibility for the crisis in Iraq. The Quartet, founded in 2002, is composed of the US, EU, Russia and the UN. Its activities became a byword for sluggish diplomacy that rarely challenged the status quo. It was overtaken by efforts led by the Obama administration to achieve peace, which also failed.
One official told the AP Blair had suffered “frustration” with the limited authority of his mandate. The official also said that Blair felt his office has a strong leadership team and that now is the right time to move on. Blair’s departure comes at a time when hopes of meaningful negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are at rock bottom – against a background of dwindling hopes that a two-state solution to the conflict can ever be reached.
The official said that Blair remains committed to the Quartet’s vision of a two-state solution and hopes to play an “informal” role in promoting peace. One area where he could help is developing relations between Israel and the wider Arab world, the official said. The new Israeli government, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, pays lip service to the idea of a Palestinian state, but key ministers are opposed to making the necessary concessions. Netanyahu’s own credibility on the issue has been badly eroded, not least because the expansion of illegal West Bank settlements continues apace.
On the Palestinian side, power is divided between the western-backed Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, which is still committed to the Oslo peace agreements of 1993, and the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and is committed to the principle of armed resistance to Israel.
Blair’s departure came as little surprise. There has been mounting unease in Britain, the US and the EU over his extensive business activities in the Middle East – which have led to repeated accusations of conflicts of interest. Criticism of his effectiveness and credibility increased in recent months and there was also anger that he visited the Gaza Strip so infrequently.
Last year a group of former diplomats, thinkers and peace activists marked the seventh anniversary of his appointment by describing his achievements as Quartet envoy as negligible, even within his narrow mandate of promoting Palestinian economic development. The “impression of activity created by his high-profile appointment has hindered genuine progress towards a lasting peace,” they added.
“Seven years on there are still over 500 checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank. The Gaza Strip, severely damaged by Israel’s 2009 bombing, remains in a humanitarian crisis, with 80% of its population reliant on foreign aid for survival. Israel continues to build settlements that are illegal under international law. According to the Palestinian Authority’s former chief negotiator, Nabil Shaath, Tony Blair has “achieved so very little because of his gross efforts to please the Israelis.”
But one source close to the former prime minister said on Wednesday that Blair believed he had achieved most in improved access for Palestinians on the West Bank through Israeli checkpoints and road blocks. “More recently his efforts have helped open up the Allenby Border crossing for Palestinian businessmen to access Jordan and he has been negotiating an upgrading of the terminal there.”
His relationship with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was tense at times, although he reportedly enjoyed better relations with other Palestinian figures.
Criticism of Blair in circles around Abbas focused on the allegation that he was too close to successive Israeli governments and more interested in Israel’s needs than promoting Palestinian issues. Senior officials were angry enough at one stage to discuss declaring him persona non grata, although that plan was shelved.
It was not clear whether the new role that Blair envisages for himself would be under the auspices of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.
“Tony Blair has been so closely involved,” the source said. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s not going to disappear off radars any time soon. It won’t be a formal role but he will continue working through his contacts with key players like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”