Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” on Thursday denied a report saying that Blair was sent to pressure the Palestinian Authority to “replace any mention of the word ‘Palestine’” in Palestinian schoolbooks with the Israeli term “Samaria,” despite both Blair and the Board having demonstrated a clear pro-Israel bias.
Middle East Eye based its report on a conversation with the British retired diplomat Jeremy Greenstone, who said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Blair's alleged demand.
Greenstone said that Blair, "recently, I understand, was asked by the Board of Peace to go to Ramallah and ask to remove from the Palestinian curriculum any mention of the word Palestine." He said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "would do no such thing."
“But the very fact that the Board of Peace could ask for that to be done in the Palestinian educational curriculum makes me wonder what principles the Board of Peace is working on, and what understanding they have of justice, of the sense of fairness, of the history of all of this," he added.
Greenstone also said Blair, a representative of the Executive Board of the ‘Board of Peace’, is having "difficulties as an interlocutor" between the Palestinians in Gaza and the ‘Board of Peace’.
In response, the Blair Institute claimed that the story is a "complete fabrication," and said the report is "entirely false and without foundation."
The institution added that Blair "continues, in cooperation with members of the Board of Peace and relevant parties, to focus his efforts on supporting the peace process, contributing to the implementation of the peace plan, supporting the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, and working towards a more secure, stable and prosperous future for all the peoples of the region."
The ‘Board of Peace’ also said the report is "entirely fabricated. And not backed by a shred of evidence (because there is none)."
The Board added that Blair "has been a leader in the entire effort to end the war in Gaza, secure the release of hostages, enable historic aid influxes, and seal an agreement for Hamas to relinquish its weapons and hand over authority to a new technocratic government."
Blair serves on the Gaza Executive Board.
The reported pressure on the PA comes amid broader Israeli efforts to remove references to Palestine and Palestinians from educational and cultural institutions.
Israeli occupation authorities have recently imposed an Israeli curriculum on more than 45,000 Palestinian students in state-run schools in occupied East Jerusalem, as part of a broader campaign targeting Palestinian education in the city.
Earlier this year, Blair, known for his pro-Israel stance, claimed that Israel’s assault on Gaza does not constitute genocide, despite findings by human rights groups and reports confirming otherwise, after two years of genocide during which Israel has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, the widespread wiped out entire areas, forcibly displacement the majority of the population, and used starvation as a method of war.
He also justified the Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza over fears that materials could be used by the resistance.
Blair is known for his role in the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Blair's consultancy organisation, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), has also received money from a financial fraudster linked with illegal Israeli settlements and an American Islamophobic network.
Blair also serves as an honorary patron of the UK branch of Israel's Jewish National Fund (JNF), which has faced heavy criticism for its activities – including donating £1m ($1.3m) to what it described as "Israel's largest militia" and erasing Palestine from its official maps.
TBI was more recently linked to a widely condemned plan which proposed the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, involving a sweeping postwar redevelopment of the besieged Strip.
The project includes turning the devastated enclave into a “Trump Riviera,” with infrastructure named after Gulf monarchs and was created by Israeli businessmen with support from Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
A map on TBI’s website includes the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights as part of Israel, reinforcing concerns over the organization’s alignment.
He described Trump's plans for Gaza as the "best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering".
Conceding that Blair's inclusion on the executive board is controversial, Trump said in October: "I've always liked Tony, but I want to find out that he's an acceptable choice to everybody."
Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” has also faced criticism for its pro-Israel bias in its handling of the Gaza ceasefire, repeatedly blaming Palestinians for breaches of the agreement while failing to acknowledge Israel’s ongoing violations, including daily killings and attacks and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.
