Tony Blair criticises the Palestinians for being rejectionist, accusing them of saying “No” again and again “no matter what plan is put forward.” He still believes the creation of a Palestinian state is “both desirable and feasible,” and urges them to “change their strategy. Otherwise, the pattern of recent decades, in which every new offer is worse than the last, will be repeated. Only by their own hands will Palestinians make the future different.”

The author backs Trump’s “deal of the century,” saying the peace plan “has been praised and damned in line with political affiliation. But it is the only time a US administration has produced a map that puts on the table issues that have been glossed over for too long. Right now, the plan represents what Israeli politics can bear.” He blames the Palestinians for refusing to “discuss” it, or - even take Trump’s call, although Jared Kushner – Trump's son-in-law and architect of the plan – “is open to negotiation.”

According to Blair, the Palestinians do not need to signal acceptance of the plan, but to engage with the Americans and demand the improvements they wish to see. They must start with a “cold-blooded analysis,” and point out “why the plan is unacceptable,” and say “what must be changed” etc. He fears the risk of non-engagement with the Trump administration is that the possibility of realising the two-state solution will become ever more distant.

The author stepped down in June 2015 as special envoy of the Middle East Quartet, which, founded in 2002, is composed of the UN, the US, the EU, and Russia, seeking to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. In 2007 he was given the task of helping develop the Palestinian economy and improve governance. But he struggled from the start and made little headway for nearly eight years. While Palestinians initially welcomed the appointment of such a high-profile figure, critics said Blair achieved very little because of his efforts to please the Israelis. He was accused of conflict of interests with his considerable array of business contacts, with governments and organisations and companies in the Middle East. After his departure he said he would continue to work in a personal capacity to foster peace.

According to the author, there are “three groups of people who can practically help deliver statehood: the Israelis, the Americans, and the Arabs.” He rebukes the Palestinians for “denouncing the first, alienating the second, and irritating the third,” which is hardly “a viable strategy for success.” In response the Palestinians say “the first two are biased and the last is indifferent.” Now he urges Palestinians and their Arab allies to back Trump’s plan and start negotiating with Israel.

Blair insists the Arabs “are not indifferent. They care about the Palestinians, and they care passionately about Jerusalem. But they are exhausted from being caught between the challenges of regional stabilization and modernization, which necessitate a close alliance with America and a burgeoning relationship with Israel, and a cause which they are expected to support but are excluded from managing.”

The author says it would be wrong to insist that Arabs should "have nothing to do with Israel until the Palestinians have negotiated peace.” He proposes a “smart approach” that aims “to encourage good Israeli-Arab relations, bind the Arabs into the negotiation, and then use them to help push the Israelis toward better positions. The goal should be a joint Arab-Israeli framework for the region, in which resolution of the Palestinian question is a part. This would give Israel confidence that peace with the Palestinians is part of genuine regional acceptance – not a reward for extracted concessions, but a natural consequence of a new spirit of friendship.”

Although Blair still believes the Palestinians should have their own state, he does not envision a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, which includes the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.

There cannot be a Palestinian state without dealing with the West Bank settlements. But this is not what Trump wants. Kushner and others have been working hard to win the support of other governments in the region, particularly Egypt and Jordan, which already have peace treaties with Israel, and Saudi Arabia along with other Gulf states, to buy into the process and pressure the Palestinians to give up their land - once and for all.