Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested the appointment of a humanitarian coordinator in the Gaza Strip to improve humanitarian efforts inside that enclave.
And he even floated the name of someone to assume those responsibilities: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Although the particulars of the duties and responsibilities of the office have yet to be ironed out, the emphasis would be on "providing medical treatment and medicines, and on the possibility of evacuating the wounded and sick from the Strip," The Times of Israel reported Sunday.
What a brilliant move, and it would be like homecoming week for the region, given that it’s been held as a British protectorate for decades, before the British declared it a Jewish state, with the approval of the United Nations.
And the selection of Blair is equally brilliant. Immediately after he resigned as British prime minister after 10 years, Blair served eight years as envoy for the Middle East Quartet, which consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
The organization was established to help mediate Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s relations with Western countries deteriorated and the Quartet has been essentially inactive ever since.
Although he left the Quartet in 2015, Blair still maintains close relations with the Middle East — particularly Israel.
Blair’s office said in a statement that "Mr. Blair maintains an office in Israel and he continues to work on matters tied to Israel and the Palestinians.
"Understandably, he has conversations with people in the region and other places in order to see what can be done, but he was not given or offered the role."
And Blair isn’t wearing blinders when it comes to the Israeli-Hamas war.
Four days after some 3,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and slaughtered at least 1,200 noncombatants, beheading infants, raping women, and burning elderly alive, Blair released a statement through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change:
"As the full nature of the barbarity and disgusting savagery of Hamas attack on Israel becomes clear, which the perpetrators know full well will result not only in grief and tragedy for Israelis but also for the people of Gaza, it becomes clear also that decades of conventional Western diplomacy around the Israeli/Palestinian issue will need to be fundamentally re-thought," the statement said.
And the need for someone to coordinate humanitarian efforts is evident.
The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported Sunday that 14,320 tons of humanitarian aid had entered the Strip since the beginning of the war.
"There is no limit to the amount of food, water and medical equipment that can enter Gaza," COGAT said. "We invite the international community to coordinate and we will facilitate.”
However, the aid isn’t necessarily getting to the civilian population.
Kan-Israel Public Broadcasting released a video Sunday depicting Hamas terrorists brutally attacking and beating Gaza civilians to "prevent them from taking food from a humanitarian aid truck."
And another report released 11 days before terrorists invaded Israel indicated that Shifa Hospital in Gaza City actually serves as the terrorists’ "Pentagon" — that Hamas’s main operations base is located beneath the structure.
Now for a little history:
Great Britain ruled the region, then called Palestine, under a League of Nations mandate from 1918, the end of World War I, to 1948.
For 86 years Palestinians have repeatedly been offered their own state alongside a Jewish state. Each time they rejected it.
In 1937, the Peel Commission, headed by Sir Robert Peel, heard testimony from the region’s competing interests.
The commission offered Palestinians a state consisting of approximately 75% of the region; a Jewish state would compromise about 17%.
The Jews accepted it; the Palestinians rejected it.
In 1947 the United Nations Partitioning Plan also offered Palestinians a state — they rejected it.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" last week and listed off other offices for statehood that the Palestinians rejected.
"They were offered a state in 1967 after Israel conquered Judea and Samaria in the West Bank. They rejected it," he said.
"They were offered a state in 2000, Yasser Arafat and Barak, they rejected it.
"They were offered a state with Ehud Olmert 2008. They rejected it.
"They have, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, and they did not create a state."
All the Palestinians know is a chant: "From the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea." And it’s pretty clear by now that if they were given that, they’d still balk.
Will a Tony Blair appointment end Israeli-Palestinian differences?
No, but he’ll at least offer a voice of reason to a conflict that has no reason, and maybe get some civilians the food, water, and medical supplies they need in the process.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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