Blair 'underappreciated' by Palestinians, Israeli adviser says

Tony Blair is the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East

Saturday, 30, Aug 2008 12:00

Tony Blair's efforts in the Middle East are not as appreciated as they should be by the Palestinians, a former negotiations adviser to the Israeli government has said.

Moty Cristal, who advised prime minister Ehud Barak on negotiations until 2001, said Mr Blair's efforts to prepare the economic infrastructure for a Palestinian state were being given short shrift by the Arab community.

"The Arabic perspective is always, give us political independence and we will take care of the rest. They undermine this preparation process," he told an audience at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in London on Friday.

"I say to my Palestinian friends, learn from Zionist history. In 1948, when Ben Gurion founded the Israel state, everything was ready because we worked very hard to prepare it.

"I think Tony Blair is doing a tremendous job which is not being acknowledged by the Arabs."

Mr Cristal's comments came ahead of a visit to Syria by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who he suggested may rival Mr Blair as an important international figure influencing the peace process.

"Thank God we have a French leadership that really understands the geostrategic [position]," he said, claiming a deal with Syria could be reached before the end of the year if France acts as a mediator in the way it has between Russia and Georgia.

"This must be French-led. They know how to talk with them much better than the Americans do," Mr Cristal added.

"We might find ourselves in serious Syrian-Israeli negotiations which might bring [Syria] out from under the Iranian umbrella and more towards cooperation and engagement," he said.

"We can have a deal with Syria in three months. We've been there before – we know we can do it."