Israel is increasingly wary that British Prime Minister Tony Blair will use his impending visit to force the pace of the peace process as he promotes his own Middle East conference following Yasser Arafat’s death.
Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will embrace Blair as a ”great friend” of Israel when Blair arrives for the two-day visit on December 21, concern is increasing in Jerusalem over Britain’s attempts to force a greater role for Europe in ending the conflict.
Sharon has denounced Europe as pro-Palestinian and, earlier this year, said he did not feel the need to negotiate with anyone but the White House.
Although Israel views Blair as a solid ally, there is wariness about his attempt to insert himself into the peace process, particularly with the proposed conference in January, which Israel is being discouraged from attending.
Raanan Gissin, Sharon’s spokesperson, said Israel did not initiate the invitation to Blair, it was Blair who ”said he wanted to come”. Another official said Israel believed Blair was pushing forward the peace process as a means to revive his standing in the Labour Party.
The official said: ”We recognise Tony Blair as a friend of Israel, but he is a friend who thinks he knows what is best for us. There is a widely held view here that Blair wants to force the pace and that we are expected to pay the price because of his political difficulties at home.”
But Israel’s real concern appears to be that if Blair succeeds in pressing the Palestinians to meet their obligations under phase one of the ”road map”, which calls for the Palestinian leadership to curb violence, it could lead to pressure from the United States to move on to the creation of a Palestinian state more quickly than Sharon desires. — Â