By KUNA
Paris : Despite ongoing violence and growing Israeli attacks against Palestinian targets, Former British Prime Minister and now Quartet Representative Tony Blair remains optimistic that peace can be achieved in the region this year.
In an interview with French daily “Le Figaro,” Blair admitted that peace this year was “an immense challenge” but he added that he believed “is it totally achievable on the condition that significant changes take place on the ground”.
He called for “more determination” and for increased pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to obtain progress in the wobbly peace process born in Annapolis and confirmed in Paris late last year.
Blair, who has made a number of visits to the region and who represents the Untied States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations in the Quartet, said that efforts must be made to reinforce the security capacity of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, notably by training programs for 700 soldiers under the authority of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Improvement in Palestinian governance is also needed and new “tools for better governance” need to be put in place, the former Prime Minister said, all the while praising the efforts of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in this area.
But Blair also pointed to efforts that Israel must make to help the Palestinian economy develop. He said that growth was returning to the West Bank and there are new projects and he noted Israel has given agreement to open the access routes to the Kalkiliya and Jenin industrial zones.
The Quartet official remarked that despite authorization by Israel to allow Gaza to import material to repair damaged waste treatment plants at Beit Lahyia, “that is not enough”.
He affirmed that Israel “must dismantle wildcat settlements, (which are) illegal, including under Israeli law”.
Blair also urged Israel do dismantle certain road blockades that are not needed for security but he said “it is out of the question for Israel to lift all the road blocks from one day to the next”.
He warned that as Hamas keeps firing rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, and after the suicide bombing this week in Dimona, there is enormous political pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the area of tightening security.
“My task is to rebuild confidence between Israeli and Palestinians so that they advance,” Blair indicated.
Concerning Gaza, he said that Hamas must accept the principle of two states, Israeli and Palestinian, and if this happens the situation could improve immediately. He acknowledged the situation is “terrible” in Gaza, but he said Hamas must stop the firing of rockets into southern Israel.
In any event, he maintained, “we need a more efficient strategy to isolate and weaken the extremists in Gaza, all the while helping the population”.
He added that a “reconciliation” must be found between Gaza and the West Bank and “we want to do everything to reinforce the moderates in the Palestinian Authority”.
Blair also remarked that US President George W. Bush, who has backed the current peace talks, has been encouraged by the new leadership in the Palestinian Authority, by the approach of moderate Arab states and by an awakening in the awareness of the Israeli leadership.