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Blair says urged Israel to prevent prisoner tragedy
Published Saturday 12/05/2012 (updated) 14/05/2012 12:39
Tony Blair pictured speaking in Bethlehem in 2010.(MaanImages/File)
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Quartet envoy Tony Blair said Saturday that he was urging Israel to prevent a tragedy as two hunger-strikers entered their 75th day without food.

Blair said he was "increasingly concerned about the deteriorating health conditions" of prisoners on hunger-strike in Israeli jails, according to a statement from his Jerusalem office.

The representative of the diplomatic Quartet said in recent days he had "engaged Israeli officials at all levels urging them to take all necessary measures to prevent a tragic outcome that could have serious implications for stability and security conditions on the ground."

Blair also said he urged authorities to respect prisoners' human rights, provide necessary medical assistance, and legal recourse to due process.

Last week, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said President Mahmoud Abbas had asked Quartet envoy Tony Blair to urgently intervene in Israel's treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Bilal Diab, 27, from Jenin, and Thaer Halahla, 33, from Hebron, have refused food since Feb. 29. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Physicians for Human Rights - Israel have urged Israel to transfer the prisoners to hospital.

Both are being held in administrative detention -- without charge.

In the past month, around 2,000 prisoners joined a group of administrative detainees on hunger-strike, according to prisoners groups' estimates.

They are calling for improved conditions in Israeli custody, such as an end to solitary confinement and bans on family visits, in addition to ending administrative detention.
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1 ) southparkbear / usa
12/05/2012 20:00
yup i think he said something of that sort and we promise not to arrest them again hehehe
2 ) Nour / One-State
12/05/2012 20:30
Mind your business, war criminal.
3 ) Two / Questions
12/05/2012 20:34
1- Does Blair think murderers should go free, without paying their debts to society, and 2- Should Israel prevent a prisoner tragedy, by forcing food into the prisoner's bodies ??
4 ) Roun / One Jewish State
12/05/2012 21:44
@2 I agree, all the interlopers from outside Israel, like the UN, the EU, the Islamic and Arab countries, the left wing BDS, should mind their own damn business. We will have one Jewish state, with Jewish values and we dont need any complete failures (uk, moslem states,etc.) telling us how to run things.
5 ) ronen / israel
12/05/2012 22:19
#2 tony blair is an honorable man. as is shown by his position and status. your opinion does not matter
6 ) Prisoner & PA / Responsibility
12/05/2012 22:56
It is time to stop trying to make others accept your responsibility !! It is time for the Prisoners and the PA to fix the jail and statehood situation YOURSELF, because NO person or state, except Israelis can, and Israelis are willing to negotiate an end to the conflict now !!!
7 ) Brian Cohen / Israel
12/05/2012 23:18
My prediction: some prisoners will die. Violence will break out. More people (mostly Palestinian) will die. Nothing will be achieved, as usual, other than death and destruction. The problem is Palestinians want us to say "Palestine is the national homeland of the Palestinian people," but they refuse to say "Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people." Fix that, and peace will be at hand.
8 ) carine / UK
13/05/2012 00:37
#3 - All prisoners are not murderers, and not all the prisoners are asking to be set free. You did read the article before commenting, didn't you? Read the last sentence of the article. Israel could prevent a prisoner tragedy - by simply treating them as human beings.
9 ) Vacy / Australia
13/05/2012 02:35
The PA has left it late to call for assistance. Perhaps Israel will listen to its co-collaborator Blair because it doesn't listen to voices of justice and decency.
10 ) KAGH / US
13/05/2012 08:14
first @#3 Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are being held in administrative detention, they haven't been charged with anything except being Palestinian and second Tony dear you should recognize flattery when you see it, Israel is just imitating what your country did when it allowed Bobby Sands to die pot meet kettle
11 ) Since when is DEATH a / Tragedy
13/05/2012 09:07
in ISLAM?


hundreds are murdered daily in SYRIA and NOBODY CARES

12 ) Mel / USA
13/05/2012 15:56
Right!'Honorable',#5. I hear the Spanish Inquisition were 2,depending on your concept of "honor"? Tony B-Liar isn't honorable,he was LIED to by D.C. & just 2 sh*t scared of Cheney's war-lords, to honor any LAWS/Conventions. So we,"urge" him to: "Go directly to the ICJ.Do not pass any banks.Do not collect his blood-money & don't insult us,with his hypocrisy. So,stay there Tony! We'll bring yer'shackles,orange jump-suit &sack-cloth hood!Coz U HAVE committed PROVEN CRIMES,like cowards Bush & ISRAEL
13 ) Joe johns / U s a
13/05/2012 16:14
I read the comments from Jewish people and as a Christian , I cannot understand how people can be so callous. My only hope is that these comments do not represent the Jewish people. The american Jewish people are not like the Israeli Jewish people. Are the Israeli not informed ?
14 ) sylvia / uk
13/05/2012 16:18
Blair said in 2006 " The key is Israel/Palestine" - what did he do in his remaining years in office - and since, as the so-called peace envoy (in reality Israel's puppet - as he was Bush's). Precisely NOTHING. Incidentally, I have a super picture of this hypocrite in a jewish skull cap.
15 ) @ sylvia #14 / What Will Be
14/05/2012 01:16
You may hate Israel, and you may NOT like Tony Blair, but you should at least try to be fair to both of them: 1- Israel, after being invaded 3 times, and having fired rockets at it's cities 1,000s of times, has legitimate security concerns, and 2- Blair has NO more power to force a solution, upon Israel or Palestine than you do, and neither Israel, nor Palestine will accept the other's terms, just to talk, so there will be NO talks, NO agreement, NO peace, and NO state for Palestinians !!!
16 ) Richard SM / UK
14/05/2012 08:13
During the 1981 Irish hunger strike in the UK there were many took part, though nowhere near as many as the current Palestinian hunger strike. Ten died, though nothing much changed immediately afterwards other than the two sides - the nationalists (Irish republicans, Sinn Fein, IRA etc) and the unionists (those wishing to remain part of UK) - became more entrenched in their positions and more extreme. However 17 years later, in 1998, the Belfast Agreement allowing power sharing was signed.
17 ) sylvia / uk
14/05/2012 16:37
You don't say what country you are from 14 but I'll give you a few salient
facts re Blair and Israel so that yopu can better make your case.
In the 1970's in UK, the then Labour leader Neil Kinnock, expelled from the
Labour party many so called "militants" (ie lefties) who he said were
infiltrating the party. A few years later, along comes Blair ( a barrister) and
was given a safe seat to stand for in the N. of England. At the same time, a
TV producer (a certain Mandleson) latched on to
18 ) sylvia / uk
14/05/2012 16:47
(cont) Blair and, between them, they and their accolytes, INFILTRATED the
Labour party from the RIGHT. The party of the working people became the
party of the uber rich. Indeed Mandleson (who incidentally was also given
a safe labour seat to stand in - Hartlepool for God's sake) stated that he was
"extremely relaxed about people becoming filthy rich under Labour". What he
meant was SOME people (like himself and Blair). Blair continued to cultivate
the rich AND the UK jews - enobling Levy,
19 ) sylvia / uk
14/05/2012 16:55
(cont) Levy - a sometime music producer who got rich off the backs of the artists he managed ( just the type to join NEW Labour). So a rich zionist jew donates to New Labour and all of a sudden he is Blair's tennis partner!
NOW LORD LEVY - see how it works 15? These are facts - NOT the product
of my imagination. So, yes, I despise Blair just as I DESPISE the rotten little
country that is Israel = but that must wait for another day as I don't think
Maan can possibly print all this!
20 ) Carlos / usa
14/05/2012 20:12
israel has invaded all of the countries around it without provocation. To claim israel has been invaded more than once is ridiculous. 1956 israel attacked Egypt without provocation. israel commits many massacres of Egyptian civilians and soldiers. 1948 israel attacked all Palestinian villages which were without significant defense committed heinous crimes. An example is Deir Yassin among many others which are not so well known. 1967 israel made a suprise attack on Egypt.
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