Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister who led his country into the war in Iraq and whose eight-year tenure as a Middle East envoy got — at best — mixed reviews, raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he attended a White House summit on the future of Gaza.
The contents of the meeting have not been made public, although President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News ahead of the gathering that it would focus on the administration’s “comprehensive plan” for Gaza after the war ends.
To the casual observer, Blair’s presence may have been a surprise. While he is a former world leader with experience in the Middle East, his official activities in the region over the past decade have been mostly limited to private business ventures and sporadic media appearances.
Husam Zomlot, the ambassador who heads the Palestinian Mission to the UK, would not comment on Blair’s attendance at the Gaza summit, but it’s clear that the former British leader inspires little confidence among Palestinians.
After leaving Downing Street in 2007, Blair served for eight years as the Middle East Envoy for the so-called Quartet, a group of world powers seeking a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
