Blair to Be Quizzed By Mps on Middle East

Tony Blair will today take questions in the House of Commons for the first time since he resigned as prime minister when he gives evidence to MPs about his role as a Middle East envoy.

His appearance before the international development committee comes as the former cabinet minister Peter Hain calls for Britain to open talks with Hamas, saying the veto on discussions is crippling the Middle East peace process.

Hain's remarks, made in a speech in New York and outlined in a Guardian article, were cleared in advance with the foreign secretary, David Miliband, and differ from the position of the Quartet - Russia, the US, EU and UN - who refuse to talk to Hamas without a commitment to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

His comments will represent a challenge to Blair, who will face close questioning by MPs on how to treat Hamas, and lift the blockade on Gaza. The MPs on the committee have heard grueling accounts of the situation within Gaza, including the lack of food and sanitation.

Hain, drawing on Blair's willingness to talk to the IRA in Northern Ireland, warns that in the Middle East "preconditions have been, and now are, a crippling bulwark against dialog. However, despite the intensity of bitterness and hatred between Hamas and Israel, neither can militarily defeat the other - they will each have to be a party to a negotiated solution that satisfies Palestinian aspirations for a viable state and Israel's need for security.

"In the Middle East, the conflict has not been gripped at a sufficiently high level over a sufficiently sustained period. Initiatives have come and gone, and violence has returned to fill the vacuum. International forces have not been aligned."

Blair has always resisted talks with Hamas, although it is widely thought that unofficial talks do occur. Hamas won elections two years ago, and seized military control of Gaza a year ago.

Blair will be challenged on his efforts to lift roadblocks between Israel and the Fatah-run West Bank, and Israel and Gaza, seen as the single biggest issue holding back economic progress. Israel imposes the roadblocks to protect itself from suicide bombers. Blair has tried to focus on 60 or so roadblocks thought to be causing the most economic damage.

In Gaza as many as 612 roadblocks exist, an increase of 236 since 2005. Blair, who has yet to visit Gaza, has negotiated the removal of some in recent weeks, starting with a corridor around Jenin. Palestinian security forces will take over a large block of the northern West Bank, which will also be targeted for investment projects, such as a German-funded industrial zone.

As much as £7.7bn has been offered in aid to the Palestinian economy, but the select committee has been told the investment is pointless without freer movement of labor.