Palestine urges Tony Blair to distance himself from Israeli 'voluntary evacuation' of Palestinians

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian authorities on Monday urged former British Prime Minister Tony Blair not to get involved in Israeli plans that seek to expel nearly 2 million Palestinians from Gaza under what Israeli officials call "voluntary evacuation."

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry, based in the West Bank, said it is following "with great interest" reports in Israeli media saying Blair is heading a team to work for the “voluntary” evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza, and is holding meetings with some countries on the issue.

It added that if these reports are correct, it will then consider his steps "hostile to the Palestinian people and their rights in their homeland," as well as "a flagrant violation of international law, and hostile to humanity."

On Sunday, Israeli Channel 12 reported that last week Blair visited Israel and held meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

The channel added that Israel is planning to appoint Blair mediator between Israel and Western countries to convince them to receive Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

A source close to Blair later denied the reports, according to the Jerusalem Post daily.

The Israeli government has yet to comment on the report, but several Israeli officials, including hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have voiced support for the so-called "voluntary evacuation" plan.

Blair has served as official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, a forum made up of the EU, Russia, UN, and US to facilitate the peace process in the region.

During his mission, Palestinian leaders accused him of being pro-Israel.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip in the wake of a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 21,822 Palestinians have since been killed and 56,451 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar