Israel snubs Tony Blair in new envoy role

Israel has effectively snubbed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in his new role as the envoy of the international Quartet on Mideast by refusing to authorise his meeting with a senior human rights activist from the Gaza Strip.

London, Sept.13 : Israel has effectively snubbed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in his new role as the envoy of the international Quartet on Mideast by refusing to authorise his meeting with a senior human rights activist from the Gaza Strip.

Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had promised publicly that his government would provide "all necessary assistance" to the Blair mission, but this refusal indicates a lower level of co-operation for developing a Palestinian statehood, reports The Telegraph.

Blair, however, appeared unwilling to make an issue of the snub.

Since arriving last week on his first substantial visit to the region as international envoy, Blair has been arranging meetings with local sources, including aid workers and UN officials.

Unwilling, so far, to visit the Gaza Strip, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, because it is under the control of Hamas, the Islamist group under international boycott, Blair has instead visited the West Bank, where 2.5 million Palestinians live.

His office formally invited Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a respected independent association, to Jerusalem for a meeting with Blair.

The invitation was made in writing and verbally in a number of telephone calls between Sourani and Blair's office.

Sourani's group is dedicated to promoting the rule of law. The group logs human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. Much of their work concerns attacks by Israeli forces but the group also addresses human rights violations by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.

In Blair's terms of reference for his job as envoy, the rule of law is referred to explicitly.

Blair arrived in Israel last week and met Olmert. After the meeting, Israel issued a statement saying "Prime Minister Olmert promised to give all necessary assistance to assure the success of Mr. Blair's mission".

But when Blair's officials approached the Israeli authorities to seek permission for Sourani to travel, Israel turned them down.

Sourani said he was not surprised by the development.

"Israel does what it wants and does not care about the results," he was quoted, as saying.

ANI