Post by Salem6 on Jul 24, 2007 14:40:33 GMT
Tony Blair has been in the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders as part of his first visit to the Middle East as the Quartet group's special envoy.
Mr Blair has been meeting a series of key players behind closed doors
The former UK prime minister said the two-day visit was a chance to listen and learn, and spoke of a "sense of possibility" in the region.
His mandate from the Quartet of Middle East mediators is to work to strengthen Palestinian institutions.
The Quartet is made up of Russia, the UN, the EU and the United States.
Mr Blair held talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the new Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the meetings were positive, but that it had been stressed to Mr Blair he would be able to achieve little unless the wider issues of the Israeli occupation were addressed.
Mr Blair is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later in the day.
Limited mandate
On Monday, Mr Blair stopped over in Jordan before travelling on to Jerusalem where he met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Early on Tuesday, he met Israeli President Shimon Peres.
"This initial visit is a chance to listen, to learn and reflect. There will be a time when the many questions that are very obvious should be answered, but I feel that this is not the moment at this point," Mr Blair said on Tuesday morning.
The new envoy's mandate is limited to helping the Palestinians build up their institutions and boost their economy to prepare them for eventually running an independent state.
This is still a huge challenge, says the BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem.
Unemployment is high, living standards are low and corruption is widespread, says our correspondent.
Palestinian rivalries
Mr Blair's mission is complicated by the division of the Palestinians into rival camps - one led by President Abbas in the West Bank, the other led by Hamas in Gaza.
The Quartet wants Mr Blair to carry on its policy of not talking to Hamas. Israel and the Mr Abbas are also adamant that he should not talk to the militant group - which refuses to recognise Israel or renounce violence.
But a leader for the group in Gaza said this would be a mistake.
"He must be fair," said Ismail Haniya, the former Palestinian prime minister.
"He should correct the mistakes he made as Britain's prime minister. We are ready for dialogue with Blair, and even the Quartet. All we want is justice for the Palestinian people."
Hamas was elected to government by the Palestinian people last year and later formed a government of national unity with Mr Abbas's Fatah faction, led by Mr Haniya.
Mr Abbas sacked the Hamas-led government after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in deadly fighting in June. Mr Abbas formed his own emergency government based in the West Bank.
Israel has since moved to bolster Mr Abbas by freeing some 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, releasing frozen Palestinian funds and establishing regular meetings between Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6912875.stm