Washington, Jan 06: Former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair on Saturday said the best way to end the current conflict in Gaza is to stop smuggling of rockets and finance into Gaza, failing of which Israel might intensify its military campaign.
"What we're trying to do is to get a basis for an
immediate cease-fire, and I think that will involve, at the
very least, making sure that we stop the supply of rockets
coming into Gaza through the border between Egypt and Gaza,
along what's called the Philadelphia Line," he said.
In an interview to NBC news channel, Blair said he in the
capacity as the Special Middle East Envoy is working towards
ending the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Blair said he is working towards two things. "The first
is to get an immediate cessation of violence, and I think the
best route through that is to try and make sure we've got a
credible plan for stopping the smuggling of rockets and
finance into Gaza," he said.
"That is the one basis on which you can bring a quick
halt to this, otherwise I think we're into a more protracted
campaign. And then the second thing we've got to do is to work
out, in the longer term, a proper basis for Palestinian
unity," Blair said.
The former UK Prime Minister said the objective of the
international community should be to "try and create the
conditions for a cease-fire, make sure that we have a return
to calm, but a return on the basis that endures, and then get
on with the hard work, to restart credible political
negotiations, because we have made some progress in those."
Blair said the single biggest obstacle in a Palestinian
state is the continuation of terrorism and violence.
"If you get a genuine consensus on the Palestinian side
that the Palestinian state should be created, but should be
created through peaceful means, and should be created to live
alongside Israel in peace -- if there was genuine consensus on
the Palestinian side, that could be achieved," he argued.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships
battled Hamas militants in all major Gaza towns as the country
continued to reject appeals to halt the war that has killed
over 620 Palestinians.
Bureau Report