Blair refuses to criticise Israel

Amid mounting international concern, Tony Blair has refused to condemn Israeli actions in the Middle East.

Speaking at a press conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper on Friday, the prime minister said the military strikes against Palestinian and Lebanese targets were "an inevitable consequence" of the failure of diplomacy.

Downing Street also said it was not going to get into a "finger pointing game" after the EU issued a statement saying the strikes were a "disproportionate" response to attacks on Israel.

Blair said the most important thing was to return to the negotiating table.

"The truth of the matter is - and this is what is most frustrating about the whole situation between Israel and Palestine - there is actual total international unanimity on the basic solution to this, which is a two-state solution," he said.

"And the only way you are going to get a two-state solution is you negotiate the outstanding issues which are all well know.  And both sides of the negotiations accept the right to exist of the other.

"That Israel accepts the right of the Palestinians to their own independent viable state and the Palestinians accept the right of Israel to exist and be confident of its own security.

"Now actually there is total international unanimity on that. People can argue about the rights and wrongs of the current situation.

"And I would point out... that this began with the kidnap of Israeli soldiers, that there are actions continuing against the northern part of Israel even at the moment and of course everyone wants at the other side proportionality and restraint and so on.

"But this situation isn't going to be resolved by, frankly, whatever we say as international leaders.

"It will only be resolved by what we do. And what we do has got to be to mobilise the international community to grip this situation and to make sure that we can get into a place where negotiated two-state solution, which is after all what the international community unanimously thinks should happen, is brought about.

"Anything else, this is why I say this every time I'm asked about this and people ask you to condemn Israel or condemn the Palestinian side, we can condemn as much as we like, we are not actually in that situation, we are not having to take decisions in that situation.

"The fact is there is immense pressure both on the Israeli prime minister and the Palestinians and now of course on the Lebanese government...

"All of this is an inevitable consequence of a political situation in which we don't have a political, diplomatic, negotiated track running to its proper destination.

"And that is the only way we are going to get this situation resolved and frankly whatever nuances there are between different international leaders on this issue is in my view less important than that."