Exclusive: Blair asked PA to remove 'Palestine' from textbooks, former UK envoy says
Exclusive: Blair asked PA to remove 'Palestine' from textbooks, former UK envoy says Submitted by David Hearst on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 10:30 In a wide ranging interview with MEE, Jeremy Greenstock questioned Blair's ability to act as a neutral intermediary and said he was facing 'difficulties' in his role overseeing postwar Gaza On Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was recently sent by Donald…
Former UK ambassador to the UN, Jeremy Greenstock, revealed in an interview with MEE that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to remove the term "Palestine" from school textbooks and replace it with "Samaria," according to a source. Greenstock, who was Britain's ambassador to the UN between 1998 and 2003, questioned Blair's ability to act as a neutral intermediary and criticized the Board of Peace's efforts to oversee postwar Gaza.
Blair recently attempted to pressure the PA by proposing the removal of the word "Palestine" from schoolbooks, but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the demand. Greenstock expressed doubts about the Board of Peace's ability to make crucial decisions regarding the future of the Palestinian territories and criticized Blair's current role within the organization, stating that he will be seen as prejudiced due to his past actions on Iraq and Palestine.
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