Ramallah, Palestinian Territories - Tony's Blair resignation as Middle East peace envoy has been widely welcomed by Palestinians who say his term was useless, and even some Israelis agree he failed to accomplish much.
For the past eight years the former British prime minister had been tasked by the Mideast Quartet to help mediate a peaceful settlement to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Quartet -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- had appointed him to support the Palestinian economy and institutions in preparation for eventual statehood.
But the Quartet's goal of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel has not been met, and talks between the two sides have been frozen since April 2014.
Palestinians accuse Blair of siding with Israel at their expense, and unleashed a torrent of criticism against him.
"He did nothing for the Palestinian cause but was used by Israel to justify its occupation and settlement policy," Palestinian negotiator Mohammad Shtayyeh said.
"We are happy that Tony Blair is going. He should have resigned a long time ago."
Blair tendered his resignation to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and sources close to him say he would step down officially next month from his unpaid position.
AFP
