1 month ago
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Just erstwhile you thought prospects for the aboriginal of the Gaza Strip could not get immoderate bleaker, United States President Donald Trump has unveiled his 20-point “peace plan” for the Palestinian territory, starring himself arsenic the seat of a “Board of Peace” that volition service arsenic a transitional authorities successful the enclave. This from the antheral who has been actively aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians since January, erstwhile helium took implicit the US presidency from erstwhile honorary genocidaire Joe Biden.
But that is not all. Also connected committee for the “Board of Peace” is erstwhile British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who volition reportedly play a significant governing role successful Gaza’s projected makeover. To beryllium sure, importing a Sir Tony Blair from the United Kingdom to oversee an enclave of Palestinians smacks alternatively hard of colonialism successful a portion that is already rather acquainted with the phenomenon.
And yet the portion is besides already rather acquainted with Blair himself, owing successful peculiar to his notorious show during the 2003 warfare connected Iraq, led by his buddy and then-chief of the alleged warfare connected terror, George W Bush. Swearing by the mendacious allegations of Iraqi weapons of wide destruction, Blair steered the UK into a warfare that yet killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, earning him a astir deserved estimation arsenic a warfare criminal.
In different words, helium is not a feline who should nether immoderate circumstances crook up connected a “Board of Peace”.
And portion Bush would subsequently discontinue to a quiescent beingness of coating dogs and portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Blair continued to marque a sanction for himself arsenic the antheral the Middle East conscionable cannot get escaped of – and to marque a beauteous penny portion astatine it.
After resigning arsenic premier curate successful 2007, Blair was instantly reincarnated arsenic Middle East envoy for the “Quartet” of planetary powers – representing the US, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations – that is ostensibly everlastingly striving to resoluteness the Israel-Palestine issue.
But successful this case, too, the assignment of an envoy with adjacent relations to Israel – the unquestionable aggressor to the “conflict” – beauteous overmuch obviated immoderate advancement successful the absorption of “peace”.
Furthermore, Blair’s diplomatic enactment conveniently overlapped with an array of highly lucrative concern dealings successful the region, from providing paid proposal to Arab governments to signing connected arsenic a part-time elder advisor successful 2008 with the US concern slope JP Morgan. For the second post, Blair was said to beryllium compensated successful excess of $1m per year.
As Francis Beckett, coauthor of Blair Inc: The Man Behind the Mask, told Al Jazeera successful 2016 – the twelvemonth aft Blair stepped down arsenic Quartet envoy – “the trouble was that erstwhile helium went to meetings successful the Middle East, cipher knew which Tony Blair they were seeing – whether it was Tony Blair the Quartet envoy oregon Tony Blair the patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation oregon Tony Blair the main of the consultancy steadfast Tony Blair Associates”.
But, hey, the constituent of conflicts of involvement is that they wage off.
In a 2013 article for the Journal of Palestine Studies, award-winning writer Jonathan Cook noted that, portion Blair had small to amusement successful presumption of “achievements” arsenic Quartet representative, helium liked to “trumpet 1 successful particular: his occurrence successful 2009 successful securing vigor frequencies from Israel to let the instauration of a 2nd Palestinian compartment telephone operator, Wataniya Mobile, successful the West Bank”.
There was a catch, however. As Cook details, Israel released the frequencies successful speech for an statement from the Palestinian enactment to driblet the contented astatine the UN of Israeli warfare crimes committed during Operation Cast Lead successful Gaza, which was launched successful December 2008 and killed immoderate 1,400 Palestinians successful a substance of 22 days.
And what bash you know? “Blair had backstage concern interests successful negotiating the deal,” and it truthful happened that “not lone Wataniya but besides JP Morgan stood to nett massively from the opening up of the West Bank’s airwaves.”
Now, it is hardly an exaggeration to presume that Blair volition question to capitalise connected his impending governorship of Gaza, arsenic well, arsenic determination are nary uncertainty plentifulness of opportunities for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in, you know, changing the satellite to definitively screw implicit the Palestinians.
One focus of Trump’s 20-point plan, incidentally, is the “many thoughtful concern proposals and breathtaking improvement ideas … crafted by well-meaning planetary groups” that volition magically nutrient “hope for aboriginal Gaza”. After all, wherefore should Palestinians attraction astir having a authorities and not being perennially massacred by Israel erstwhile they tin person capitalism and the tyranny of overseas investors instead?
And the look of that tyranny whitethorn good beryllium Blair, whose synonymousness with the slaughter of civilians successful the Middle East has not prevented him from being erstwhile again tapped arsenic a determination peacemaker.
This is not to accidental that Blair has nary fans speech from Trump and the Israelis. For example, New York Times overseas affairs columnist Thomas Friedman, a chap Orientalist and Iraq warfare cheerleader, erstwhile praised Blair arsenic “one of the astir important British premier ministers ever” for having decided to “throw successful Britain’s batch with President Bush connected the Iraq war”, thereby not lone defying “the overwhelming antiwar sentiment of his ain party, but nationalist sentiment successful Britain generally”.
There was, it seemed, nary extremity to Friedman’s admiration for Blair’s antidemocratic stoicism: “He had nary existent enactment radical to autumn backmost on. I’m not adjacent definite his woman supported him connected the Iraq war. (I cognize the feeling!)”
Now, arsenic Gaza’s destiny continues to bent astatine the mercy of Blair and different planetary warfare criminals, possibly his woman should suggest that helium instrumentality up coating instead.
The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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