Yehuda Litani-12/09/2007

Yehuda Litani, (Ynetnews)

"Since he arrived in Jerusalem last week we have hardly heard a word from him: Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and current Quartet envoy to the Middle East, is busy trying to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians modestly and away from the limelight. The man who was accustomed to receiving extensive media coverage, even while handling the Irish conflict, has suddenly fallen silent.

While handling the Irish conflict Blair had almost limitless powers: The army and police in Northern Ireland were under his direction and all government officials were obliged to adhere to his word; everyone knew that Blair was Great Britain's most senior representative, the exclusive ruler of all of Northern Ireland.

It appears that Blair is aware of the fact that the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is far more complex and convoluted than the one in Northern Ireland, and he is, therefore, refraining from making public statements and prefers to primarily work behind the scenes.

Although he represents a weighty and important body, the International Quartet, which includes the UN secretary-general and the foreign ministers of the European Union, the US and Russia, he does not have an army or a police force behind him and he does not have hundreds and thousands of officials at his beck and call as he did before.

Drawing on some of the conclusions from the conflict in Northern Ireland, Blair believes that peace begins with the economy and in joint industrial zones set up in border areas. On paper it looks good, and President Peres would also be happy to be a partner to such initiatives, which he himself started in the past.

However, reality here is desperately complex: Who represents the Palestinians? Blair prefers Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, but what about the Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip who are subject to Hamas rule? Will every agreement signed with Mahmoud Abbas be accepted by them as well? And what about the Palestinians of east Jerusalem? Despite them very much being taken into account in every discussion pertaining to a future agreement, the lion's share of them prefer to remain under Israeli rule."

Back to top