Mideast envoy Blair in surprise Gaza visit

PALESTINE: Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair arrived in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in his first visit to the Hamas-run enclave since being appointed Middle East Quartet envoy, officials said.

"Tony Blair has arrived in Gaza and should be at an UNRWA school shortly," a consulate spokeswoman told AFP, referring to a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

His visit comes a day ahead of an international Gaza reconstruction conference due to be held in Egypt after the devastating Israeli war on the coastal strip in December and January.

The Middle East Quartet - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States - is due to meet on the sidelines of the conference in the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.

Blair was appointed Quartet representative in June 2007.

Gaza City, Sunday, AFP