Former UK UN ambassador Jeremy Greenstock alleged that ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair urged the Palestinian Authority to expunge all references to ‘Palestine’ from educational textbooks.
Greenstock, who served as UK ambassador to the UN from 1998 to 2003 and later as Special Representative for Iraq, made these remarks during an appearance on the David Hearst Podcast on Wednesday. Hearst is the Editor-in-Chief of Middle East Eye.
According to Greenstock, Blair was recently approached by the Board of Peace to visit Ramallah and advocate for the removal of all references to ‘Palestine’ from Palestinian school curricula, with the implication that such compliance would qualify the PA for peace negotiations with Israel to resolve the conflict originating from the October 7 attacks. Greenstock stated he received this information from a ministerial-level source.
“Mahmoud Abbas would never comply with such a request,” Greenstock continued. “Yet the mere fact that the Board of Peace could propose this action raises serious questions about their guiding principles, their conception of justice, their interpretation of historical fairness, and their vision for the future.”
Greenstock further asserted his personal conviction that Prime Minister Netanyahu aims to fulfill his father’s vision of restoring Judea and Samaria under Israeli sovereignty, viewing the October 7, 2023 attacks as an opportunity to advance this objective through Israeli military action.
Greenstock Treated Allegations as Confirmed Facts
A spokesperson for Blair informed The Jerusalem Post that Greenstock’s allegations are ‘unfounded and entirely fabricated,’ adding that they had previously notified Middle East Eye of the claim’s inaccuracy prior to publication.
Throughout the interview, Greenstock repeatedly presented disputed assertions as confirmed facts.
For instance, when questioned about Israel’s decision to close its investigation into the killing of three British World Central Kitchen aid workers, Greenstock declared: ‘The civilian casualties were clearly the result of a deliberate attack.’
However, no evidence has emerged to support the claim of intentional targeting.
On April 1, 2024, Israeli forces inadvertently struck and killed seven international humanitarian workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen (WCK).
Last week, the IDF investigation acknowledged that its surveillance personnel had erroneously identified the WCK security team as Hamas operatives.
Despite recognizing the severity of the mistake, the chief military prosecutor of the Military Advocate-General (MAG) Corps concluded that, although significant procedural flaws contributed to the erroneous assessment that Hamas militants were in the vehicles, the commanders’ decisions did not constitute sufficient grounds for suspecting criminal wrongdoing.
Consequently, the IDF determined that no criminal investigation was warranted.
Advocacy for Ceasing Trade with West Bank Settlements
Later in the podcast, Greenstock urged a complete cessation of trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, asserting that such settlements violate international law and the Geneva Conventions.
Although Greenstock’s stance aligns with the perspective of numerous international bodies, Israel contests this interpretation, contending that Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention was designed to prevent forced population transfers rather than restrict voluntary Israeli relocation to the area, and emphasizing that the West Bank’s contested legal standing and the provisions of prior Israeli-Palestinian agreements must be considered in any assessment.
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