Blair cancels visit to Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Former British PM Tony Blair, the Middle East peace quartet's envoy, won't be travelling to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as planned initially because of a security threat.

International Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair cancelled what would have been his first trip to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday because of a security threat, his spokeswoman said.
   
"Unfortunately we had to cancel the visit because of a specific security threat... we had to turn back on the road," Ruti Winterstein told AFP.
   
She said the former British premier was committed to visiting the impoverished Palestinian territory and hoped to schedule another trip at a later time.
   
Blair, who was appointed representative of the Middle East peace Quartet more than a year ago, was to have visited a waste water treatment plant in northern Gaza and to have discussed humanitarian activities.
   
He had been expected to meet the commissioner general of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Karen Abu Zaid, and the body's local director, John Ging.
   
Blair had not planned to meet any representatives of Hamas, the Islamist movement that seized control of Gaza in June 2007 from forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
   
But Hamas, which had welcomed the visit, said it had made the appropriate security preparations and accused Israel of pressuring Blair into cancelling the trip.
   
"The Israeli occupation exerted great pressure to prevent Tony Blair from visiting the Gaza Strip because they did not want him to see the size of the disaster caused by the unjust blockade," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said.
   
"The Gaza Strip is open for any visitors who want to break the blockade and see the suffering of our people," he added in a statement.
   
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no information on why the visit was cancelled.
   
Since Hamas seized power, Israel has severely limited the movement of goods and people into and out of Gaza in a bid to pressure the Islamist regime to halt rocket attacks on Israeli communities near the border.
   
Israel has eased conditions since a truce with Palestinian militants including Hamas came into force on June 19 but has closed the crossings for days at a time following sporadic rocket and mortar attacks.
   
The Quartet, which has been seeking to advance peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, consists of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
   
Hamas, branded a terror group by the United States, the European Union and Israel, has rejected the US-backed peace process.