The Palestinian presidency announced its strong rejection of any “suspicious attempts to assign (former British Prime Minister) Tony Blair or others to work to displace citizens from the Gaza Strip,” considering this a condemnable and unacceptable act.

The presidency said in a statement, “We will demand that the British government not allow this tampering with the fate and future of the Palestinian people.”

It added, “We will also call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to do everything possible to not allow such actions that violate international law and international legitimacy, which represent interference and action that only serve the interests of Israel and harm the Palestinian people and their rights, and push them to abandon their land.”

The presidency considered that Tony Blair “is completing the Balfour Declaration issued by the British government with American participation, which established the tragedy of the Palestinian people and ignited dozens of wars in the region,” stressing that Blair is “an undesirable person in the Palestinian territories.”

Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: We are following news of Blair’s attempt to convince the West to receive refugees from Gaza

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that it was “following with great interest” what was reported by the Israeli media regarding Blair heading a working group to persuade Western countries to receive refugees from the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.

The Foreign Ministry explained in a statement: “We are following with great interest what was reported by the Israeli media, and we hope that Tony Blair will not be involved in committing this crime, which falls within the framework of the Israeli government’s plans to deepen genocide and forced displacement among the Palestinians.”

Yesterday, Sunday, the Hebrew Channel 12 (privately) reported that Israel intends to appoint Blair as a mediator between it and Western countries to persuade them to receive Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.

The channel said, “Blair was on a secret visit to Israel last week, where he held unannounced meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister in the War Council, Benny Gantz, to discuss the matter.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said: “If the news is true and true, this action is hostile to the Palestinian people and their rights in their homeland, a flagrant violation of international law and anti-humanity.”

It stressed “holding accountable those who carry out (the displacement of Palestinians) or participate in it.”

The Foreign Ministry indicated that it “will continue to follow up on this serious issue in partnership with Arab, Islamic and friendly countries to confront it at all popular, partisan and official levels and at the level of national courts in countries.”

The channel explained, “During the meetings... the idea was raised for Blair to be a mediator between Israel and Western countries, regarding the issue of displaced Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.”

While there was no immediate comment from the Israeli authorities, the Palestinian factions, the National Authority, and Cairo repeatedly affirmed their “rejection of the displacement plans.”

In this context, a source close to Blair denied to the Jerusalem Post what Channel 12 reported.

The source said, “The allegations related to Blair’s connection to the displacement of Palestinians are incorrect.”

He continued: “Such a discussion has never occurred, and Blair will not discuss such a proposal.”

Last November, a representative from Netanyahu's Likud Party, Danny Danon, proposed the issue of voluntary immigration for residents of the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hebrew newspaper “Israel Today”, Danon said, “The world is already discussing this matter. Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller spoke about these matters publicly, as did Nikki Haley (a potential Republican candidate for the US presidency).”

He added: “We must form a team in the State of Israel that will take care of this issue and make sure that everyone who wants to leave Gaza for a third country can do so.”

The newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying: “Our problem is the countries that are prepared to absorb refugees, and we are working to solve it.”

Several times, the United States and European and Arab countries announced their rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip abroad.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that, as of Sunday, left “21,978 killed, 56,451 wounded, massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to the Gaza Strip authorities and the United Nations.