Region | Palestinian Territories
Blair wants Israel to lift key West Bank roadblocks
Middle East envoy Tony Blair has drawn up a list of West Bank travel and trade restrictions that he wants Israel to remove to boost peace talks with Palestinians, officials briefed on the document said on Monday.
- AP
- Published: 12:37 April 28, 2008
Occupied Jerusalem: Middle East envoy Tony Blair has drawn up a list of West Bank travel and trade restrictions that he wants Israel to remove to boost peace talks with Palestinians, officials briefed on the document said on Monday.
The list calls for the removal of a number of key roadblocks, including one near the Jewish settlement of Beit El that restricts Palestinian travel to and from the West Bank city of Ramallah, where President Mahmoud Abbas' government is based, the officials said.
The list is the first of its kind by the former British prime minister since world powers appointed him last June to head efforts to revive the Palestinian economy.
Citing Israel's restrictions, the World Bank cautioned this week that per capita income in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank in 2008 would be static, if not lower, despite $7.7 billion in aid pledged to the Palestinians in December.
On Monday, Blair met Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who has so far balked at removing major checkpoints and roadblocks, arguing they are necessary to stop Palestinian militants.
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