Exclusive: Blair asked PA to remove 'Palestine' from textbooks, former UK envoy says

What Happened

Jeremy Greenstock, the UK's ambassador to the UN from 1998 to 2003, told Middle East Eye that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair recently went to Ramallah on behalf of a body referred to as Donald Trump's Board of Peace and asked the Palestinian Authority to remove all mentions of the word "Palestine" from its school textbooks, replacing them with the Jewish designation "Samaria." Greenstock said Blair conveyed that the PA would be treated by the Board of Peace as capable of reaching an agreement with Israel to end the war on Gaza only if this change were made. Greenstock described this demand as rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Greenstock said he received this information from a ministerial-level source.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The reported demand touches on Palestinian national identity and historical narrative at a time when the Gaza war and postwar governance arrangements are being negotiated. If verified, it signals that the US-led Board of Peace is pressuring the PA over core symbolic and educational issues — not only security or territorial matters — as a precondition for recognising the PA's role in ending the conflict. The rejection by Abbas indicates potential friction between the PA and the US-led initiative, which could affect ceasefire diplomacy and the PA's involvement in Gaza's postwar management.

Watch For

Whether the Palestinian Authority or Tony Blair publicly confirm or deny the reported demand; any statement from the Board of Peace or the US administration on its conditions for the PA; whether changes to Palestinian textbooks are proposed or implemented; and whether this episode affects ongoing ceasefire negotiations or Blair's role in postwar Gaza management.