Blair: Root Causes of Mideast Conflict Must Be Tackled

Israelis and Palestinians must address the root causes of tensions in the Middle East now that a ceasefire halting eight days of conflict around Gaza is in place, peace envoy Tony Blair said Thursday.

"The key thing was always to get the ceasefire in place," Britain's former prime minister told reporters.

"What is necessary now is to deal with the root causes of the problem," added the envoy for the diplomatic Quartet, which comprises the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia.

Blair said an extended period of fighting would have made it harder to resolve "long term questions", which he identified as the inflow of weapons to Gaza, rocket fire targeting Israel and "the fundamental condition of the people living in Gaza."

The Egyptian-brokered truce deal came into effect at 1900 GMT on Wednesday.

Blair traveled to Nigeria's capital with the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as part of an initiative to improve Muslim-Christian relations in the religiously divided country.