ISRAEL: The Carter question, part 2

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The Jimmy Carter Middle East Goodwill Tour continues to generate pretty much the opposite of goodwill among supporters of Israel.

Carter arrived in Israel today for several days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. In an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Carter acknowledged that he plans to meet with senior leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas this week in Syria.

That prospect has the blog-o-sphere at a full-boil, with perspectives running from supportive to outraged to surrealist.

Some are rallying to Carter’s side. An editorial in the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star said the current U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations are pointless as long as Israel and the U.S. insist on isolating Hamas.

‘Any peace deal that might be concluded in the absence of Hamas would hold little value, since it would deny the Israelis the security that hard compromises ought to bring,’ the article stated. ‘Perhaps it is time to at least begin exploring other options.’

Israeli leaders are unwilling to publicly criticize a former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize winner. President Shimon Peres sat down privately with him today. But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cited scheduling difficulties.

—Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem

Caption: Carter with Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begin at Camp David in 1978. Credit: Public domain

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