Tony Blair believes peace in the Middle East is 'further away' now than when he was in office

5 September 2024, 21:11 | Updated: 6 September 2024, 06:37

Tony Blair has told LBC he believes peace in the Middle East felt "more achievable" when he was in Number 10.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has told LBC he thinks peace in the Middle East is further away than when he was in office.

Speaking to James O'Brien in an interview set to air in full tomorrow, the former PM said "most reasonable people" know there needs to be a two-state solution.

He refused to be drawn on the decision to suspend some UK arms sales to Israel - saying he doesn't want to 'second-guess' the Government.

But the former prime minister said peace he does believe the peace process in Palestine can be revived.

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He told LBC: “The thing I’m focused on is how we bring this conflict to an end…And I think the only solution that brings a final end to the conflict is self-determination for the Palestinian people and security for Israel.”

When asked if peace in the Middle East feels further away than when he was in power, Mr Blair said: “Well, I think you’d have to say yes to that.

“But it could easily be revived.”

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He said: “I’ve been there a lot and I’m deep in the politics of the region and I think, you are only going to get peace now if there is genuine cultural acceptance which is not just about where borders go and other detailed elements of negotiation.”

He continued: “You are going to have to win the hearts and minds if you want a chance for peace.”

The full interview with Tony Blair can be seen on LBC and Global Player at 10am on Friday, September 6.

This comes just days after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed Britain will partially suspend arms sales to Israel.

David Lammy said that the UK is suspending around 30 export licenses for arms and military equipment, out of a total of 350.

This will affect equipment like military aircraft, helicopters and drones, he told MPs on Monday afternoon.

Mr Lammy explained that there was a "clear risk" that the sales could result in arms being used in a way that could breach international law.

But Israel is said to be both "disappointed" and "furious" about the decision.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant said he was "deeply disheartened" by what he described as "sanctions placed by the UK Government on export licenses to Israel's defence establishment".

Foreign minister Israel Katz said the move sent a “very problematic” message to Hamas and Iran.

“Israel is disappointed by the series of recent decisions made by the British government, including the latest decision on defence exports to Israel, its decision to withdraw its request to submit a friendly position to the ICC, and its position regarding UNRWA, as well as the recent British conduct and statements in the UN Security Council,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, another senior Israeli official told The Telegraph that Israel is “furious” and the UK should think about the “signal it sends to the world” following Hamas' execution of six hostages.

The announcement also saw a mixed response in the UK, with former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps telling LBC's Andrew Marr that the suspension was akin to "student politics".

However, some MPs on the left of Labour and some charity leaders, called for ministers to go further.

Mr Shapps told LBC that the suspension was a "gut punch" and amounted to "punishing" Israel for being attacked by Hamas.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the war in Gaza that followed the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.

But Mr Shapps said the decision was "a very retrograde step".

"This is not some sort of student politics now, where you carry out student bans on different things, this is now geopolitics," he said.

"This is about making sure that when a terrorist group attacks a democratic nation, the answer isn't to start punishing the democratic nation for that attack.”

Mr Shapps said that the move "shows the student politics nature of David Lammy". He added that the suspension "will do nothing, because we sell almost nothing. 10% of almost nothing is nothing but gesture politics."

He said that to Israel "to will feel like a punch in the guts from an ally, and a friend."

But Simon McDonald, the former ambassador to Israel and the former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, told Andrew that the suspension was "a bit overdue."