11:57AM IL: Ruti Winterstein, a spokeswoman for Quartet Mideast envoy Tony Blair announced a short time ago that Blair will be canceling his planned visit to Hamas-controlled Gaza, which was to have taken place today.

Blair would have become the highest-ranking diplomat to visit Gaza since it came under the current Hamas regime. He announced he was hoping to meet with officials towards advancing a Quartet plan for additional funding of projects in Gaza.

Apparently the cancellation is the result of credible specific threats and not due to general concerns for Blair’s security in Gaza. 

The Quartet is made up of the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations. (Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)