Blair Cancels Gaza Trip After Security Warning
Tony Blair had hoped to visit Gaza in his capacity as Mideast envoy for the Quartet -- that's the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia -- but had to cancel because of a "specific security threat." It's hard to be an envoy if you can't get to where you need to go, but the former British prime minister promised to make it to Gaza eventually and "press for help for the people there."
Tony Blair had hoped to visit Gaza in his capacity as Mideast envoy for the Quartet — that’s the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia — but had to cancel because of a “specific security threat.” It’s hard to be an envoy if you can’t get to where you need to go, but the former British prime minister promised to make it to Gaza eventually and “press for help for the people there.”
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Blair told The Associated Press that the threat was “specific” and “credible,” forcing him to call off the trip but he said it was a postponement, not a cancellation.
“I intend to go to Gaza as soon as I can, and I will continue to press for help for the people there,” he said.
Blair’s visit Tuesday was to have included a tour of a Gaza waste water project and meetings with traders and U.N. officials, but not with leaders of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that seized Gaza by force more than a year ago.
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