Blair takes job as envoy to Mideast

Shortly after relinquishing his decade-long rule as British prime minister, Tony Blair yesterday accepted appointment to an equally challenging position, that of a special envoy to the Mideast.

His appointment by the Quartet of peace negotiators - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - came as violence flared in the Gaza Strip, where 13 Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed during Israeli military incursions.

It was the bloodiest fighting Gaza has seen since Hamas took control there two weeks ago, and put in sharp relief the work that lies ahead for the former British leader.

In announcing Blair's appointment, the Quartet said he would begin by helping mobilize international aid to the Palestinians while working on longer-range economic-development plans.

He also will deal with "the institutional-governance needs of the Palestinian state, focusing as a matter of urgency on the rule of law," according to a Quartet statement.

The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, has been under pressure since Hamas forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip earlier this month, splitting political power in the Palestinian territories. Abbas, head of the more moderate Fatah party, now rules from the West Bank.

Blair will face other demanding challenges, including Arab anger over the wars in Iraq and Lebanon and perceptions that he speaks for President Bush.

"Even our moderate Arab allies say that Mr. Blair's credibility in the region is in pieces" and that he "merely parrots the U.S. line while privately wringing his hands," the Daily Mirror wrote in an editorial yesterday.

Throughout his 10 years as Britain's prime minister, Blair was an interventionist, with largely positive results in Kosovo and Libya. Perhaps his most remarkable diplomatic achievement was helping bring peace and democratic self-rule to Northern Ireland, where violence had confounded many other British leaders.

But leading the push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians is a challenge of a different magnitude, especially because his reputation is tainted in Arab eyes by his support for invading Iraq.

In his last appearance before Parliament as prime minister yesterday, Blair seemed determined to apply his renowned skills as a negotiator, even as he recognized the difficulties he would face.

A viable two-state solution is "possible," he told British lawmakers, "but it will require a huge intensity of focus and work."

Blair's decision to back the Bush administration on the Iraq war and take part in the prewar planning made the prime minister enemies at home and in the Arab world. He also was criticized for supporting the Bush administration's decision to do little to try to stop Israel's inconclusive war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon last year.

His role as a Middle East envoy "could be a painful reminder of the most unhappy aspects of his premiership, as he encounters Arab suspicion that he is merely a lackey of George Bush, and Arab anger over Iraq and the Lebanon war of 2006," an editorial in the Guardian said.

It said Blair would deserve enormous credit if he were to defy those odds by "providing the dogged, daily application of pressure and pursuit of detail that the Israel-Palestine conflict requires," and that he demonstrated in Northern Ireland.

Some commentators said the magnitude of the task would give Blair a chance at redemption for the Iraq war.

President Bush, who spoke with Blair yesterday, called him a "friend" and "visionary leader," and said he was pleased Blair had agreed to represent the Quartet. "Tony is a man who stands up for his beliefs and has the courage of his convictions," Bush said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also welcomed Blair's appointment, saying: "We wish him luck. Israel will provide Blair with all the assistance he needs."

The situation in Gaza has become more complicated since Hamas took control from Fatah on June 14. Palestinian officials said that most of those killed yesterday belonged to militias. About 40 people were reported injured.

The Israeli operations came a day after Abbas had issued a decree disbanding all Palestinian militias; Hamas officials in Gaza said they would not abide by the edict. Abbas also ordered all Palestinians carrying guns or explosives to have government-issued permits to do so, a step designed to improve law and order in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Abbas condemned Israel's operation, saying the incursion undermined his ability to disarm the militias, and asked the United Nations to call on the government to end it.

An Israeli spokeswoman said the raids were similar to others in recent weeks aimed at destroying the "terrorist infrastructure" and locating weapons and fighters.