Hamas: Israel foiled Blair's efforts to consolidate the ceasefire

Israel is to blame for the failure of former Middle East Peace Envoy Tony Blair’s attempts to consolidate the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Tel Aviv, a member of the Palestinian resistance movement said.

Sami Khater told Quds Press: “The attempt to consolidate the ceasefire between the resistance and the occupation is a multilateral attempt, especially by Western and European sides, though the most important figure is the former British Prime Minister and Quartet Envoy Tony Blair.”

He explained that Blair’s attempt was based on consolidating the ceasefire agreement that was reached last year in exchange for ending the siege, the reconstruction of Gaza and allowing the Strip to enjoy communication with the outside world.

“The success of this attempt mainly depends on the concerned parties; we in Hamas have welcomed and supported these efforts, but it was obvious that the problem is with the other side, which is the Zionist enemy… And we have made this clear to the parties that communicate with us. In a nutshell, this is one of the attempts, led by Blair, representing the Europeans, with the US’s backing. The response came from the occupation’s leaders … The question is now: Is Blair able to get a response from the Israelis about his efforts to consolidate the ceasefire? ”

“The Europeans and Blair approached us and it is not us who approached them. It was clear from the outset that this is about consolidating the ceasefire agreement that was reached last year, and it was also clear that we are not interested at all in any political negotiations with the occupation,” he stressed.