By Wafa Amr RAMALLAH, West Bank, April 14 (Reuters) - Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Monday if the political situation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip changed, it could get a share of the international aid that has helped the occupied West Bank grow. "It's worth repeating on behalf of the international community that if the situation could only change there, there would also be an enormous desire to help people in Gaza too, not just people in the West Bank," said Blair, an envoy for the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators. Hamas Islamists, shunned by the West over their refusal to recognise Israel and renounce violence, took over the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah faction in fighting last June. Blair, a former British prime minister, spoke at a signing ceremony establishing a mortgage company that will help Palestinians buy homes in a new $1.5 billion housing project. "(The) economy of the West Bank is actually growing despite all the problems, so think of how much more can be achieved, if we were able to realise the vision ... of a Palestinian state," Blair said in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abbas sacked the Hamas-led government after the Gaza Strip's takeover and Israel tightened border restrictions on the passage of people and goods to and from the territory. "We are worried about the situation in the Gaza Strip, the siege, the incursions and the useless rockets," Abbas said. "We are working with our brethren in Egypt to achieve a truce so people can lead a dignified life," he added. The appointment of Western-backed Salam Fayyad as Palestinian prime minister ended international sanctions on the West Bank but those on the Gaza Strip have remained in place. The United States and the rest of the international community pledged $7.7 billion in aid to Fayyad's government in a donor's conference in December last year. (Editing by Mary Gabriel)
Rosalynn Carter (R), wife of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, visits Barzilai Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon April 14, 2008. Carter angered the Israeli government with plans to ...
