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 " class="video-embed-field-lazy container-element"> On Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was recently sent by Donald Trump's Board of Peace to ask the Palestinian Authority (PA) to replace any mention of the word " Palestine " in schoolbooks with the Jewish designation of "Samaria", Middle East Eye has heard. Jeremy Greenstock, who was Britain's ambassador to the UN between 1998 and 2003, told MEE that Blair attempted to exert pressure on the PA and said that if it was serious about being seen by the Board of Peace as capable of reaching an agreement with Israel to end the war on Gaza , then the word "Palestine" should be erased from textbooks. In a wide-ranging interview on the David Hearst Podcast, Greenstock said the demand was rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.