Bangla Press Desk: Former UK prime minister Tony Blair will not get a place in the US-backed “Gaza Peace Council” as Muslim nations have raised objections against the appointment over his leading role in the devastating 2003 Iraq war, the Financial Times reported citing sources.
Blair, 72, has been quietly dropped from consideration for US President Donald Trump’s “board of peace”, aimed at rebuilding the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, the sources said. He will almost surely not get a central role in the board, for which he is campaigning, due to Arab opposition, they told FT.
However, he could still hold a role on the sidelines of the Gaza post-war scheme, but probably not on the board, the sources said.
It was previously reported widely that Blair had been campaigning behind the scenes to secure a prominent role in Gaza’s post-war interim administration, floated by Trump in September, amid leaks of a plan drawn up in part by his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) with Trump’s son-in-law and informal envoy Jared Kushner.
While Blair’s backers had pointed to his role in ending decades of violence in Northern Ireland, critics had pointed to his lacklustre record of achievements while serving as the representative of the so-called Quartet – the UN, EU, US and Russia – to help mediate Middle East peace.
But Blair has faced fierce backlash from regional leaders, who harbour deep resentment over his decision to take Britain into the US-led invasion of Iraq to depose then President Saddam Hussein.
Could still hold a ‘non-central’ role
Blair was the only person who had been named as a frontrunner to sit on Trump’s “board of peace” so far. The US leader has said he would chair the board himself.
The US president had said in October that he liked the former PM, but still needed to be sure that he had the backing of other states involved in the peace process.
“I’ve always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he’s an acceptable choice to everybody,” he said at the time, adding: “I want to find out that Tony would be popular with all because I just don’t know that.”
A source told the FT that it was likely Sir Tony would have “a role in a different capacity” – just not as central as planned and probably not on the peace board.
“The Americans like him and the Israelis like him”, but Arab and Muslim leaders in the region have reservations, the source suggested.
Earlier this year, there was furious public and political opposition in Egypt to the prospect of him visiting the country, let alone having a role in Gaza’s future.
BP/SP
