Palestinians unhappy with envoy Tony Blair

[xchrom]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/02/uk-palestinians-israel-blair-idUKTRE7910YT20111002

(Reuters) - Palestinian officials are going public with long-whispered complaints that international Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, is biased towards Israel.

Unofficial suggestions that Blair should now be replaced coincide with a Palestinian drive to secure membership of the United Nations, establishing statehood in the face of strong opposition from Israel and its main backer, the United States.

While there has been no official request to the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators to have Blair removed as their envoy, some Palestinian officials at the weekend told reporters they had had enough of what they perceive to be his pro-Israel bias.

Bassam al-Salhe, a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official who attends the PLO's high-level meetings, described Blair on Sunday as "a junior employee of the Israeli government" rather than a neutral envoy of the foursome made up of the European Union, the United States, U.N. and Russia.