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LONDON — British Prime Minister Tony Blair is considering spending a night in the Gaza Strip when he visits Israel next month to mark Israel's 50th anniversary.

A report in the London-based Guardian newspaper said the proposed overnight stay would represent "an unprecedented gesture of British support for an independent Palestinian state."

Blair would be the first national leader to spend a night in Palestinian-controlled territory; he also would be representing the European Union, of which Britain holds the rotating presidency.

A spokesman for Blair described the report as speculation, but refused to rule out the possibility of such a stay.

The report is thought to have been based on a leak that was designed to test Israeli reactions. It is considered unlikely that Britain will press the issue if it encounters strong Israeli opposition.

The British government is still smarting over the diplomatic debacle caused by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's visit to the controversial Israeli neighborhood of Har Homa in southeastern Jerusalem, which prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a dinner with him earlier this month.