The Quartet’s Representative Tony Blair met today with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Brussels to discuss the Palestinian macroeconomic situation and the Palestinian Authority budget.
The development agenda in 2012 focuses on seven thematic areas related to the economic growth and institution-building, specifically:
- Private sector development
- Promoting movement, access and trade facilitation
- Area C development
- Reconstructing and opening up Gaza economically;
- Improving living and business conditions in East Jerusalem;
- Improving the rule of law covering the judicial and security sectors;
- Strengthening the PA fiscal position.
In the past, the Quartet – under Tony Blair’s leadership – has already made significant progress in many of those areas, including:
- An increase in the number of products being allowed into Gaza;
- Implementation of major sanitation projects in Gaza;
- Construction of schools and clinics in Area C;
- Export of agricultural goods from Gaza;
- Approval of new construction projects in Gaza;
- Opening of checkpoints in the West Bank to allow Arab-Israeli access to all major Palestinian cities and Palestinian businessmen to conduct a full day’s business in Jordan;
- Increase in permits for Palestinians to work in Israel;
- Millions in budget support to the Palestinian Authority from Abu Dhabi;
- Successful change of address for West Bank residents with Gazan IDs
As always, the British press dutifully reported all of the above achievements and praised Tony Blair for his commitment – not.
Julie, all well and good, but can you tell me/us what Israel got out of this?
I mean given that rockets from Gaza are still falling around Israel, also ignored by a pro-Palestinian Press like CNN and BBC et al, what did Tony do for Israel lately?
It seems from that list that Hamas did very well out of this intiative, but the Israelis got nothing but kudos.
I recall seeing the film here in Prague on HBO about am Israeli doctor that tries to save the life of a sick Palestinian baby.
Despite all the help the mother was getting from the Jewish doctor, she tells the camera crew that she still would like to arrange a suicide attack on Israel.
So it really does seem that for Israelis no good deed goes unpunished!
Stephen, if you have been following Mr Blair’s career you must be aware that he got under fire many times – during his time in office and afterwards – for his strong support for Israel. While his mandate requires him to help the Palestinians build their own state, Mr Blair has made repeatedly clear that without a secured state of Israel this is not going to happen. Just a couple of months ago, Mr Blair refused to support the Palestinian UN statehood bid, as he considered a unilateral move illegitimate and contra-productive. It’s fair to say that Mr Blair and his team are trying to increase the living standards of ordinary Palestinians but then again that should be in the interest of all. When it comes to high politics, however, I don’t think anyone can accuse Mr Blair of not speaking up for Israel’s security, whether during the Lebanon war in 2006 or the question of what to do with Iran now.
His (and the EU’s) promotion of building in Area C is highly pronblematic.
Perhaps you are right about Mr. Blair’s intentions, but I think, sadly that everyone is very misled about Palestinian intentions.
Time and time again their leaders, especially Hams leaders, have explained that they are playing a long game. Treaties they sign are there to be broken, schools teach hatred of Jews, maos show no Israeli state.
Yet still Israel is pressured to to make concession after concession and the leaders of the EU states, even Mr. Blair, believe that these statements are just “negotiating” positions to be discussed.
Islam, especially the strand of it practiced by armed militias and their theocratic backers, is not a compromising religion. Christian and even Jewish bigots are the same, but seldom resort to the level of violence shown by the leaders of Iranian and Saudi Arabian led terrorists.
Islam does not want to share the region with Jews or even Christians.
I used to be a “dove” about the Israel/Arab problem, but years of watching the increasing barabarity of the Arab mentality, not just towards Jews, but to each other as we have seen in Egypt, Libya and now in Syria has made it clear to me that peace will only come to the Middle East when the world finds a substitute for oil, at which point we can all stop sucking up to these odious regimes (not their people – I don’t blame them so much) and start showing some justice to the one democracy in the Middle East, instead of constantly blaming it for the violence shown against it.