Blair proposes Mideast conference
British Prime Minister Tony Blair today proposed an international conference next year focused on implementing reforms in the Palestinian administration.
Speaking in Jerusalem after talks with Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, he said he hoped the meeting would help prepare the Palestinians for Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza next year.
“What the conference can do, I hope, is ensure that there is a real sense that when disengagement happens there are plans and proposals in place to allow the Palestinian side to become a real partner for peace with Israel,” Mr Blair said.
Sharon has already said he will not attend a conference planned for London early in the New Year.
Mr Blair also expressed his condolences for the US soldiers killed in an attack on a military base outside the northern Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday.
The British premier was due to travel to Ramallah in the West Bank for talks with the Palestinian leadership.
