Tony Blair was behind Donald Trump’s Middle East peace deal … but the deal already faces criticism

A new Middle East peace deal that Tony Blair helped negotiate was criticized last night for offering nothing to Palestine.

Israel signed the landmark deal with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Tuesday at a White House ceremony.

The three countries pledged to normalize relations in a move hailed by US President Donald Trump as the “dawn of a new Middle East.”

But it was feared that it would not bring peace and would only start a new arms race in the region.

Mr Blair was hailed yesterday by an Israeli newspaper for playing a “key role” in the agreements. He was praised by Washington and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he hoped others would follow suit.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair awaits the start of the Abrahamic Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

However, critics said the deal would only serve the three signatories, plus the United States, and offered nothing to end tensions between Israel and Palestine.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz called Blair a “rock star” in signing the agreement in Washington, DC, adding: “People were lining up to take pictures with him.”

Blair first negotiated informal talks between Israel and the UAE in 2015, using his strong relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get the disputing parties to sit in London.

He then helped build trust among nations over the next several years. The former Labor leader praised the deal, which he said was the only path to peace and which would eventually be beneficial to the Palestinians.

Critics noted that the deal paves the way for a ‘lucrative’ arms deal between the US and the UAE to which it wants to sell F-35 jets (pictured) despite Israel’s earlier objections.

The deal saw Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agree to open embassies and establish new diplomatic and commercial ties, particularly in tourism, technology and energy. It also opened air gaps between the trio.

The overall objective is to bring peace to the entire Middle East by ending the tensions between Israel and Palestine. Blair said: “I believe that in time the Palestinian people will understand that only through a radical change in strategy can legitimate aspirations for a viable Palestinian state be realized.”

Most Arab states have boycotted Israel for decades, insisting that they would only establish ties after Israel’s dispute with the Palestinians was resolved. But they have been increasingly concerned about Iran’s influence in the region, and experts say the main focus of the deal was “alignment” against that regime.

The three countries pledged to normalize relations in a move hailed by US President Donald Trump as the ‘dawn of a new Middle East’.

However, critics said the countries that signed the pact were willing to “put Palestine under the bus” due to fears about Iran and its growing influence. Chris Doyle of the Council for Arab-British Understanding said: “These countries see Iran as the biggest threat and so they are willing to throw Palestine under the bus.”

Critics noted that the deal paves the way for a ‘lucrative’ arms deal between the US and the UAE to which it wants to sell F-35 jets despite Israel’s earlier objections.

Andrew Smith of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade warned: “Military spending in the Middle East has increased dramatically in recent years and there is a risk that it will intensify the arms races underway in the region.”

A spokesman for the former Labor leader said: “Mr Blair has never received any payment for the work he has done for Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Arab relations.

“And far from throwing the Palestinians under a bus, it actually preserves the possibility of a Palestinian state by stopping the annexation of the Jordan Valley and the settlements.”