WEST BANK: The Quartet Middle East envoy visits Jenin, five days after Palestinian security deployment

Record ID: 562508

  • Title: WEST BANK: The Quartet Middle East envoy visits Jenin, five days after Palestinian security deployment
  • Date: 8th May 2008
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF BLAIR AND MUSA WALKING IN JENIN MARKET, SHAKING HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QADDURA MUSA, GOVERNOR OF JENIN, SAYING: "Blair's visit is solely for economic purposes, to observe the economy of the Jenin province. Everyone knows that security is not achieved alone, but is integral to the economic and political sectors." MORE OF BLAIR AND MUSA WALKING IN JENIN MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF JENIN 01, SAYING: "He is a criminal. A criminal in Iraq, a criminal in the Jenin camp, and they are welcoming him as a guest." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF JENIN 02, SAYING: "We should not welcome him." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF JENIN 01, SAYING: "He is a criminal. They murdered the children of Iraq and raped the women of Iraq." BLAIR SHAKING HANDS WITH ORANGE JUICE VENDOR AND DRINKING A GLASS OF JUICE MORE OF BLAIR AND MUSA IN MARKET
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA89RTBTE9I5YJX2R7DMDZUT4MC
  • Story Text: Middle East Envoy Tony Blair visits the West Bank city of Jenin where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces have been deployed for a law-and-order campaign meant to show the government is laying the ground for statehood.
    Five days after president Mahmoud Abbas redeployed security forces to the West Bank city of Jenin, Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair paid a visit to the northern Palestinian city on Wednesday (May 07).
    Blair said his visit was primarily focussed on economic issues, a main concern of the Quartet members -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

    "It's my belief, as I've said for many months now, that to support the political negotiation you need real change on the ground. People in Palestine have to see a real change in their circumstances in order to support that political progress," Blair told reporters at a joint news conference with the governor of the Jenin province Qaddura Musa.
    Hundreds of Abbas' forces deployed to Jenin on Saturday (May 03) in a U.S.-backed security push Washington hopes will show Palestinians can rein in militants, Israel's main condition for Palestinian statehood.
    Jenin governor Qaddura Musa confirmed that Blair's visit was to observe the potential for new investments in the area -- which will facilitate the exchange of goods between the Palestinian territories, Israel and Jordan -- as well as the effectiveness of the redeployment of Palestinian forces.

    "Blair's visit is solely for economic purposes, to observe the economy of the Jenin province. Everyone knows that security is not achieved alone, but is integral to the economic and political sectors," Musa said.
    Musa accompanied Blair on a tour of the local market, where the former British prime minister canvassed local residents.
    But not everyone was keen on the ex-premier's visit. Standing apart from the fawning crowd that followed Blair through the market, some called him a "criminal" for his decision to invade Iraq during his term in office.

    "He is a criminal. A criminal in Iraq, a criminal in the Jenin camp, and they are welcoming him as a guest," said one man.

    "We should not welcome him," said another.
    A Palestinian civilian was killed on Tuesday (May 6) when President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces clashed with militants for the first time since launching a law-and-order push in the northern West Bank.
    Palestinian forces said in a statement the man was killed when an "outlawed group" opened fire on the security men, adding they would investigate the incident and keep up their crime-fighting push.
    The Jenin deployment by Abbas's forces, some of whom receive U.S.-funded training in Jordan, is the second big Palestinian security campaign in a major West Bank city following Nablus late last year.
    The new force plans to enter some 50 villages around Jenin for similar missions.
    The deployment to Jenin from the southern and central West Bank was coordinated with Israel, which has emphasised that "ultimate security responsibility will remain in Israel's hands", despite the larger-scale presence of Abbas's men.
    Last month Israel agreed to a Palestinian request to reopen 20 police stations in the occupied West Bank as part of a security drive aimed at bolstering Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
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