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Sir Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, has indicated that he would be prepared to play a humanitarian role in Gaza if there was a realistic prospect of changing the course of events in the enclave.
Reports in Israel claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, hoped to appoint Blair as “humanitarian coordinator” in Gaza, drawing on the former British prime minister’s experience in the region.
Blair, a former international envoy to the Middle East, was not offered a role, his office said. But his allies said he would consider playing a humanitarian role if he thought he could make a real difference.
“As you know, Mr Blair has an office in Israel and has continued to work on issues concerning Israel and the Palestinians,” a Blair spokeswoman said.
“He is obviously discussing the situation with a number of people in the area and elsewhere to see what can be done. But no “role” is offered or accepted.
Privately, Blair’s colleagues said he would only consider a role “if it was a genuine opportunity to change course on a humanitarian level”. One added: “Nothing is discussed or decided yet. »
The time of Israel cited reports According to the Ynet media outlet, Netanyahu believed Blair could improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reduce international pressure on Israel as it continues its offensive against Hamas.
Ynet, citing unnamed senior officials, said Netanyahu hoped to leverage Blair’s experience in the region to ease international concerns about the humanitarian situation.
Blair’s refusal to rule out involvement in the crisis will spark intrigue in Britain, where he remains a controversial figure because of his decision to take the UK into the Iraq war in 2003.
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After leaving Downing Street in 2007, he became Middle East envoy for the Quartet, a group including the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia, and established an office in East Jerusalem.
Blair pledged to try to improve economic conditions on the ground for Palestinians and to preserve the possibility of an eventual two-state solution. He left this position in 2015.
He now runs a successful international think tank and consultancy, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and maintains an office in Jerusalem.
Blair’s activities after Downing Street have long attracted criticism. He confirmed in a Interview with the Financial Times in September that he provided and still advises the Saudi government, despite the brutal assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
He had no excuses. “For me, the challenge is always are leaders trying to do things that we think are beneficial and of value? “, did he declare. “If they are, we will support them.”