Tony Blair has claimed there were only two things which would secure peace in the Middle East.
The former prime minister – who served as the Middle East peace envoy for eight years – believes the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas can only be resolved through a two-pronged solution.
He called for security for Israelis, and self-determination for Palestinians.
The ex-PM refused to be drawn on Labour’s decision to suspend some arms licenses to Israel last week, but he did say: “The thing I’m focused on and active on is how we bring the conflict to an end and revive the prospect of, I think the only solution that really brings a final end to the conflict, which is the self-determination for Palestinians and security for Israel.”
LBC host James O’Brien asked Blair: “Does [peace] feel further away now than it did when you were in Downing Street?”
“Well, I think you’d have to say yes to that at the moment,” Blair replied.“But it could easily be revived.
“The difference between Northern Ireland peace process and the Israeli-Palestinian one is that in Northern Ireland, we were able to achieve peace but without an agreement as to what the final outcome [would be].”
He recalled how the unionists in Northern Ireland wanted to stay with the UK, while the nationalists wanted to be with Republic of Ireland.
Yet, more than three decades of violence between the two sides was brought to an end with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which Blair oversaw during his premiership.
But, he told LBC that in the Middle East, the “irony is that there is an agreement among most reasonable people that you need to have a two-state solution”.
“But it’s the circumstances that make that extremely difficult to negotiate,” he added.
Hamas breached Israeli borders on October 7, killing 1,200 people on Israeli soil and taking around 250 others hostage.
Israel declared war and began a land invasion of the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
According to local authorities in Gaza, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died since the war began.
Blair claimed that he is still “deep in the politics of the region” having visited the Middle East around 270 times since leaving office.
“I think, you are only going to get peace now if there is genuine cultural acceptance which is not just about where borders go and other detailed elements of negotiation,” he added. “You are going to have to win the hearts and minds if you want a chance for peace.”
While promoting his new book On Leadership, he also told LBC that he worked with Donald Trump’s administration over topics in the Middle East, particularly the Israel-UAE-Abraham accords to set up peace there.
He added that in “general terms” he thinks the PM’s job is to set up a close relationship with the US president.
“One thing I’ve learned over time is don’t get involved in American politics. It’s complicated enough for Americans without someone from the outside blundering in,” he said.