JERUSALEM (AP) – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday stepped down as the international community’s Mideast envoy, officials said, leaving a post that began with great promise but which struggled to deliver dramatic changes in its quest to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
The departure reflected the dire state of Mideast peace efforts, which have been stalled for years and show no signs of resuming following the formation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government. A top Palestinian official said he was “happy” Blair was leaving, accusing him of ineffectiveness and caving in to Israeli pressure.
Officials familiar with the work of the Quartet in the region said Blair had written a letter to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to confirm his resignation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, which was expected later Wednesday at a meeting of Quartet officials in Brussels. At midday Wednesday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said he could not yet confirm receipt of the resignation letter.
The Quartet – which includes the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the United Nations – appointed Blair to the post in 2007 with the goal of helping develop the Palestinian economy and institutions. The mission was meant to prepare the groundwork for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a peace agreement.
But Blair quickly found himself fighting small battles with Israel over the movement of Palestinian goods and people in the West Bank, and dealing with the difficulties of a Gaza Strip ruled by the Hamas militant group and blockaded by Israel and Egypt. Hamas, which is shunned as a terrorist group by the U.S. and EU, seized control of Gaza from the rival government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shortly before Blair took office.