Jerusalem – Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair today will be named special envoy for the international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East with a portfolio focused on Palestinian economic and political reform, a senior U.S. official said.
Members of the Quartet, the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, will give their public blessing and announce that Blair has agreed to take the job in simultaneous statements from their capitals and New York, the official told The Associated Press.
The official, who insisted on anonymity because the statements are still being drafted, spoke after being briefed on a meeting of Quartet representatives held earlier Tuesday in Jerusalem.
The Quartet gathering came a day after the Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders held a summit in a unified stance against Hamas and its stunning takeover of the Gaza Strip.
Monday’s summit at an Egyptian resort on the Red Sea was meant to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Western-backed Fatah party was severely weakened by the Hamas victory.
The Hamas takeover has left the Palestinians with two governments – Abbas’ new Cabinet based in the West Bank, and the Hamas rulers of Gaza, who are internationally isolated.
Three U.S. officials said Monday that discussions on naming Blair to the envoy post had been completed and that the issue was on the Quartet’s Tuesday agenda.
Blair himself did not rule out the idea Tuesday.
“I think that anybody who cares about greater peace and stability in the world knows that a lasting and enduring resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is essential,” he said in London.
“As I have said on many occasions, I would do whatever I could to help such a resolution come about.”
Blair’s new job will deal primarily with helping the Palestinian Authority build political institutions and will not, at least at first, involve direct mediation or negotiation between the Palestinians and Israelis, the official said, noting that the Quartet itself “retains the right to be the interlocutor between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
The post is expected to be unpaid but will come with staff and logistical support, as did a previous similar position held by the former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn, who had a narrower job description.
Both Israeli and Palestinian officials reacted positively to the prospect of Blair’s involvement in peace efforts.
“Tony Blair is a very well-appreciated figure in Israel,” said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
