Palestine wants 'pro-Israel' Middle East peace envoy Blair axed as he is 'of no use'

London, Oct 6 (ANI): A senior Palestinian official has called for the removal of Tony Blair from his position as Middle East peace envoy, saying the former British leader is 'biased towards Israel' and is 'of no use at all.'

Mohammed Ishtayeh, a member of the Central Committee of the dominant Fatah movement and a confidant of President Mahmoud Abbas, said Blair was no longer trusted as an impartial mediator.

Ishtayeh said the Palestinians had written to the "Quartet" of mediating powers which Blair represents-the European Union, United States, Russia and United Nations, to say its latest proposition for a resumption of stalled peace negotiations was too vague to be meaningful.

"We do not expect much of the Quartet. There is discontent with its envoy Tony Blair," the Daily Mail quoted Ishtayeh, as saying.

"Our general evaluation of his efforts is that he has become of no use at all. He has developed a large bias in favour of the Israeli side and he has lost a lot of his credibility," he said.

"We hope the Quartet will reconsider the appointment of this person," he added.

A spokesman for Blair said the comments do not reflect his conversations with the Palestinian leadership.

He said it was the role of the Quartet representative to interact with both sides "not least so that we can continue to deliver change on the ground for Palestinians to improve their quality of life."

Palestinian officials have recently expressed harsh anti-Blair sentiments, saying that he solicited other European nations to vote against a Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN assembly this month.

They have always been skeptical of Blair ever since he was appointed Middle East peace envoy after leaving Downing Street in June 2007. (ANI)