Loan Adviser

Midwestern Blair hopes to resume talks in weeks –

ABUJA (Reuters) – The envoy of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Saturday he expected the Israelis and Palestinians resume peace talks within weeks, following a break of more than a year.

Recently, Washington said that Blair would intensify it1000s work with the U.S. negotiator George Mitchell to mediate the talks.

“I hope we can take them up in the coming weeks, but who knows, “Blair told Reuters during a visit to Nigeria. “The Israelis want to enter into negotiations, the Palestinians want to enter the negotiation, the question is under what terms,” he said.

Much of Blair”s role as U.S. envoy, EU, UN and Russia is helping to prepare an eventual Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Blair said efforts would increase, not only to strengthen the Palestinian economy and allow greater freedom of movement, but also to promote the practice of law on the Palestinian side and ensure a functional criminal justice system.

Peace talks have not resumed since the war Israel-Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009, due largely to the Palestinian demand that Israel imposed a total freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, to which Jerusalem is denied.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected a limited and temporary detention of construction imposed by Israel late last year, calling it inadequate, and want assurances that the new talks quickly seek a final agreement on issues key.

Blair said the “indirect or proximity talks” through Palestinian and Israeli envoys could have a role to play, “but ultimately the key issue is to the point where the two sides talk about the core issues and talk about them seriously. “

A top priority in the field, said the envoy, was to decrease the Israeli restrictions on Gaza, ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas which refuses to recognize the Jewish state. The blockade has intensified the misery of the poor and populous country.

“We obviously need to stop the attacks coming from Gaza,” said Blair.

“But the most important thing is to eliminate or reduce the blockade of Gaza so we can deal with security issues in the proper way to Israel, but let people see the prospect of a better future,” said the diplomat.

On Saturday, Israeli troops shot and wounded two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Apparently when you were shot into Israel to find work.

Blair was in Nigeria to support a Christian-Muslim initiative to combat the deadly disease malaria. He said he also hoped to promote understanding in a country of 140 million people afflicted with sporadic episodes of ethnic and religious violence.

(Published in Spanish by Ines Guzman)