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Elders Media Coverage
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Jimmy Carter cancels Thursday visit to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | Jerusalem Post
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Former US president Jimmy Carter called off his visit to the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources on Wednesday. No reason for the cancellation was given. -
Jimmy Carter cancels Gaza Strip visit
Apr 30, 2015 | The Times of Israel
A delegation led by former US President Jimmy Carter said it has called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip -
President Rivlin: Return to direct talks with PA is vital
Apr 29, 2015 | Israel Hayom
By Yori Yalon, Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff
At meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, President Reuven Rivlin expresses concerns about the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran • Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to visit Gaza Strip and West Bank this week. -
Former US President Cancels Gaza Visit
Apr 29, 2015 | Channel 7 (Hebrew)
By Ido Ben Porat
Former US President Jimmy Carter announced today (Wednesday) that he has canceled his visit to Gaza which was planned for tomorrow (Thursday). -
Delegation with former US President Jimmy Carter cancels Gaza Strip visit without explanation
Apr 29, 2015 | Fox News
By Associated Press
A delegation led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says it has called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip. -
UNWELCOME BACK, CARTER
Apr 29, 2015 | The American Spectator
By Jay D. Homnik
The position of former President has always been a revered and exalted one in the United States, ever since George Washington did his Cincinnatus impression and retired to his… well, sort of like a farm. -
Jimmy Carter cancels trip to Gaza
Apr 30, 2015 | Albawaba News
In a last minute move, former US President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday canceled his visit to the Gaza Strip, scheduled on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. -
Carter postpones Gaza visit 'indefinitely
Apr 29, 2015 | Anadolu Agency
"Carter has postponed his visit, during which he had planned to meet with Hamas leaders," the source told AA, requesting anonymity. -
Jimmy Carter cancels visit to Gaza at last minute
Apr 29, 2015 | JTA
Former President Jimmy Carter canceled a visit to the Gaza Strip. -
Jimmy Carter Cancels Trip to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | The Algemeiner
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has cancelled a planned visit to the Gaza Strip. -
Jimmy Carter Cancels Trip to Gaza to Meet with Hamas
Apr 30, 2015 | Breaking Israel News
By Lea Speyer
Former US President Jimmy Carter canceled a planned trip to Gaza to meet with Hamas officials on Thursday. No reason was given for the abrupt cancellation. -
Former US President Carter Cancelled Visit To His Hamas Allies in Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | The Yeshiva World News
Former US President Jimmy Carter, who maintained good ties with Yasser Arafat and his allies YM”S has been labeled persona non grata in Israel by President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. -
Carter’s Bitter Pills
Apr 29, 2015 | St. Louis Jewish News
That ought to be fairly obvious to former President Jimmy Carter this week, days after Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined a request to meet with the former American leader. -
Jimmy Carter Cancels His Trip to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | Jspace
By Erica Morris
Jimmy Carter has put an end to a planned visit to the Gaza Strip.
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Jimmy Carter cancels Thursday visit to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | Jerusalem Post
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Former US president Jimmy Carter called off his visit to the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources on Wednesday. No reason for the cancellation was given.
Carter was scheduled to arrive on April 30 in Gaza to meet with Hamas leaders, and then with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to help mediate between the two factions' stalled national reconciliation. The status of Carter's visit to the West Bank is still unknown and so far has not been cancelled.
Originally, the trip to the region was meant to include visits to both Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. However, on April 20, President Reuven Rivlin said he would refuse to meet with Carter due to his stances seen as "anti-Israel."
In recent years, Carter has become one of the most prominent critics of Israel, notably when during last summer's war with Hamas he denounced the IDF's Operation Protective Edge, calling it illegitimate.
An Israeli diplomatic official told The Jerusalem Post's Hebrew sister publication Ma'ariv that the Foreign Ministry recommended Rivlin not meet with Carter, in order to transmit the message that those who harm Israel will not meet with the president.
Carter has criticized successive US administrations for failing to clinch an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. He has advocated controversial positions, chief among them that the West should engage Hamas in diplomatic negotiations.
Dana Somberg/Ma'ariv Hashavua and Jpost.com Staff contributed to this report.http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Jimmy-Carter-cancels-Thursday-visit-to-Gaza-400591
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Jimmy Carter cancels Gaza Strip visit
Apr 30, 2015 | The Times of Israel
A delegation led by former US President Jimmy Carter said it has called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip
Carter had planned to make the visit on Thursday in an attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in the war-battered territory. The trip included planned meetings with Hamas, the Islamic terror group that controls Gaza.
But late Wednesday,the Elders, the group sponsoring the visit, expressed regret that it would not take place. It gave no explanation.
“[The Elders] remain concerned at the slow pace of reconstruction and the continued closure of Gaza, and will work with the international community to improve conditions for its people,” a spokesperson for the group stated.
The spokesperson also expressed the group’s commitment towards Palestinian reconciliation and reaffirming “their belief in a just and viable two-state solution for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Former US president Jimmy Carter meets then-Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin at the Knesset, June 15, 2009. (Photo credit: Kobi Gideon / FLASH90)
Israeli officials have no plans to meet Carter. But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Israel was prepared to allow Carter to visit Gaza, and the cancellation was not at Israel’s request.
In recent years, Carter has become an increasingly outspoken critic of Israel’s policies and of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza last year, Carter charged that there was “no justification in the world for what Israel is doing.” He also accused Netanyahu of blocking steps toward a two-state solution and working toward a “Greater Israel.”
Carter was the subject of much criticism in Israel over his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” in which he wrote: “Israel’s continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Middle East.”
In 2013, the former president called on the European Union to label products from West Bank settlements, which, he argued, are illegal under international law, although he rejected a full economic boycott to pressure Israel over the settlements.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/jimmy-carter-cancels-gaza-strip-visit/
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President Rivlin: Return to direct talks with PA is vital
Apr 29, 2015 | Israel Hayom
By Yori Yalon, Dan Lavie and Israel Hayom Staff
At meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, President Reuven Rivlin expresses concerns about the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran • Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to visit Gaza Strip and West Bank this week.
President Reuven Rivlin met on Tuesday with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro. At their meeting, Rivlin stressed the importance of a return to direct negotiations with the Palestinians, and warned of the negative consequences that would result from unilateral international initiatives to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Rivlin also voiced his concerns about the emerging nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran.
Meantime, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is trying to mediate between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. To that end, Carter will visit the Gaza Strip and the West Bank this week.
Carter's main objective is to get the PA and Hamas to actualize the reconciliation deal they reached last year.
Carter has met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in the past and, in 2009, visited Gaza and met with Hamas' then-Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Carter has been known for his critical views of Israel's policies toward its Arab neighbors and has used the word "apartheid" to describe Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
During Operation Protective Edge last summer, Carter condemned what he referred to as the "humanitarian catastrophe" inflicted on Gaza and urged President Barack Obama to acknowledge Hamas' legitimacy in order for it to serve as additional political player in the region.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25113
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Former US President Cancels Gaza Visit
Apr 29, 2015 | Channel 7 (Hebrew)
By Ido Ben Porat
Former US President Jimmy Carter announced today (Wednesday) that he has canceled his visit to Gaza which was planned for tomorrow (Thursday).
The delegation in which Carter is a participant planned to meet with Hamas terrorists in order to attract international attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Ministry made it clear that they did allow the delegation entry into Gaza but meetings would not be held between the delegation and the President and Prime Minister.
Last week it became known that President Reuven Rivlin refused to meet former US President during his visit to Israel, because of Carter’s anti-Israeli views.
In recent years, Carter has become a regular visitor to Israel. During the operation "Defensive Edge" said, "There is no justification world what Israel is doing." He also called on Obama to remove Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations during the Gaza war.
http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/297506
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Delegation with former US President Jimmy Carter cancels Gaza Strip visit without explanation
Apr 29, 2015 | Fox News
By Associated Press
A delegation led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says it has called off a planned visit to the Gaza Strip.
Carter had planned to make the visit on Thursday in an attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in the war-battered territory. The trip included planned meetings with Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza.
But late Wednesday, the Elders, the group sponsoring the visit, expressed regret that the visit would not take place. It gave no explanation.
Israeli officials, who consider Hamas a terrorist group, have no plans to meet Carter. But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Israel was prepared to allow Carter to visit Gaza, and the cancellation was not at Israel's request
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/04/29/delegation-with-former-us-president-jimmy-carter-cancels-gaza-strip-visit/
Cherokee Tribune: http://cherokeetribune.com/bookmark/26605455-Georgia-News-Roundup
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Apr 29, 2015 | The American Spectator
By Jay D. Homnik
The position of former President has always been a revered and exalted one in the United States, ever since George Washington did his Cincinnatus impression and retired to his… well, sort of like a farm. Later Presidents wrote good books (like Grant and Coolidge) or bad books (like Clinton) and did good works (like Nixon) or bad works (like Clinton.) Or they could paint funny watercolor self-portraits like George W. Bush.
Indeed, such was the esteem in which Americans held Jimmy Carter that they promoted him to the august role of former President after a single term in office! He left the White House on January 20, 1981, to be welcomed by the lusty cheers of a grateful nation.
Men and women of a certain age recall Jimmy’s tenure as Chief Executive with a shudder, often accompanied by a cold sweat. It is hard to communicate to the younger generation how different life was in those halcyon days. Back then you bought a home by signing a mortgage in the range of fifteen percent. Yes, you heard right, fifteen! That is a mere five times the current rate. You can imagine how much fun life was in that environment.
Now Jimmy, he figured out who was blowing all that muggy air into the economic climate. It was us, the American People. We were afflicted by this odd “malaise” which had sapped us of the pioneer spirit of yore. He sternly rebuked us for our lack of good cheer. “The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.”
His words did move mountains. He delivered that address in Washington, D.C. on July 15, 1979, and ten months later Mount St. Helens erupted in the state of Washington. You can draw your own conclusions.
Of course the most significant response toward rebuilding national confidence came when we elected Ronald Reagan and crowned Jimmy as Former President Carter, as noted above.
Since that time, Carter has been very active in playing that role, although lately he has been kicking himself over why he did not think of making a Global Initiative. Instead he divides his time between writing books and overseeing elections in hot spots around the world. The unique style of his literary output was immortalized in these pages in 1987 by P.J. O’Rourke, who reviewed Everything to Gain: Making the Most Out of the Rest of Your Life by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. P.J. introduced a parlor game in which one player reads the first half of a typically banal Carter sentence aloud and the others compete to see who can guess the apposite cliché climax. In his work as election observer, Carter typically overlooks egregious violations by the left and magnifies the slightest slips on the right.
There was one aspect of his service that went well. This was his husbandry of the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt, building on the good will of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to hammer out a real deal that stands to this day. As snidely as we may scoff at the rest of President Carter’s legacy, we must acknowledge that treaty as a genuine and meaningful accomplishment which left the world a better place.
Sadly, perhaps typically, he could not leave well enough alone. He has not been content to bask in the well-deserved accolades for substantive accomplishment. Instead he has consistently used the pulpit of his emeritus status to pillory Israel for its purported mistreatment of the Palestinian masses. He has cashed big checks from Arab patrons while bemoaning the plight of the “occupied” Palestinian.
Still Israel has always greeted him warmly. With gritted teeth perhaps, it has continued to welcome him with a smile. But in 2007 old Jimmy crossed a line, shedding his last fig leaf of objectivity by publishing Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. This odious equivalence between Israel and the late unlamented South African segregationist regime burned the last bridge between the Camp David of his youth and the campy writing of his dotage.
All of this history is back on the front page today, if only for a fleeting moment. Carter is visiting Israel now, where he asked to meet the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Knesset. Both parties responded with a memorandum from the Foreign Service, advising them not to meet with an author hostile to the state of Israel. They are walking the fine line of delivering the snub without playing the snob.
Elements of tragedy — and comedy — abound in this episode but at the end of the day there is more bathos than pathos. A man was elected to the highest office in the world and showed a flash of greatness. Then he left center stage and became a ridiculous embittered little man.
http://spectator.org/articles/62541/unwelcome-back-carter
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Jimmy Carter cancels trip to Gaza
Apr 30, 2015 | Albawaba News
In a last minute move, former US President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday canceled his visit to the Gaza Strip, scheduled on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The removal of the Gaza Strip from Carter's itinerary was announced without reason Wednesday evening by the Elders, a non-governmental organization that describes itself as a group of "independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights."
Carter's stop in the Gaza Strip was to be the first of a larger trip, to be following by visits to the occupied West Bank and Israel to address pressing political issues and bring international attention to the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.In response to Carter's decision to meet with Hamas leadership, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on April 20 he would refuse to meet with the former president due to his "anti-Israel" positions, according to Israeli media. Israeli news source Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday that the Israeli Foreign Ministry recommended Rivlin not meet with Carter, in order to convey the message that those who harm Israel will not meet with the president. Carter is a longstanding critic of what he views as Israel's unjust and violent policy against Palestinians. During last summer's war, Carter demanded that the the Israel-Gaza status quo change, calling for the international community to recognize Hamas as a "legitimate political actor." Carter was scheduled to meet Hamas leaders including Ismail Haniyeh to discuss national reconciliation, Hamas leader Ahmad Yousef told Ma'an earlier this week. He added at the time that since Egypt has no role in mediation now, Carter would come accompanied by international officials to meet Hamas leaders and then President Mahmoud Abbas.
Carter was also scheduled to meet faction leaders and ministers in Gaza, and had planned to discuss a ceasefire with Israel as well as Palestinian elections.
The former president is assumed to continue as usual with his plans to Israel and the occupied West Bank, as reported by the Associated Press.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/jimmy-carter-cancels-trip-gaza-688604
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Carter postpones Gaza visit 'indefinitely
Apr 29, 2015 | Anadolu Agency
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has indefinitely postponed a planned visit to the Gaza Strip that had been due to begin on Thursday, a Palestinian government source has said.
"Carter has postponed his visit, during which he had planned to meet with Hamas leaders," the source told The Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity.
The source did not give any reason for the delay, which, he said, could take place later.
A Palestinian security source told AA that a delegation that had arrived on Tuesday to prepare for Carter's visit would leave the strip later on Wednesday via the Israeli-controlled Erez border crossing.
Sources told AA earlier this week that Carter was undertaking Saudi-backed mediation efforts between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.
"Carter recently met with prominent Saudi officials and called for their intervention to achieve reconciliation between the Palestinian factions – a request that was welcomed by Riyadh," a well-informed source told AA.
In 2007, late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz brokered the first Mecca agreement between Hamas and Fatah, which led to the formation of a short-lived Palestinian unity government.
Months later, this unity government collapsed amid clashes between the two factions, which ended with Hamas overrunning the entire Gaza Strip in mid-2007.
Carter recently visited Qatar where he met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who, according to the source, assured the former U.S. president that Hamas was committed to reconciling with Fatah.
A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Carter visited the Gaza Strip in 2009 where he held several meetings with leading Hamas figures, including group deputy leader Ismail Haniyeh.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/501758--carter-postpones-gaza-visit-indefinitely
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Jimmy Carter cancels visit to Gaza at last minute
Apr 29, 2015 | JTA
Former President Jimmy Carter canceled a visit to the Gaza Strip.
Carter and a delegation from the Elders, an international group of elder statesmen who advance peace and reconciliation, had been scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday. No reason was given for the cancellation, which was announced on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
The former U.S. leader had been scheduled to meet with leaders of Hamas, which controls Gaza. Carter last visited Gaza in 2009, where he met with Hamas leaders.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog both rejected invitations to meet with Carter. Israel did, however, approve Carter’s request to cross from Israel into Gaza.
It is not known if Carter will go ahead with a visit to the West Bank to visit with Palestinian officials there.
Carter, who wrote a book titled “Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,” has called for the labeling of goods that originate in the West Bank, and said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was among the factors that led to the deadly attacks in January in Paris.
http://www.jta.org/2015/04/29/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/jimmy-carter-cancels-visit-to-gaza-at-last-minute-2
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Jimmy Carter Cancels Trip to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | The Algemeiner
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has cancelled a planned visit to the Gaza Strip.
No apparent reason was given for the last-minute cancellation, The Jerusalem Post reported. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin had refused a meeting with Carter during the trip, citing the latter’s “anti-Israel” views.
Carter was scheduled to visit Gaza on April 30 to meet with Hamas leaders and to discuss reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA). His main objective was to get the PA and Hamas to actualize the reconciliation deal they reached last year.
The former American president has met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in the past, and in 2009 he visited Gaza and met with then-Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Carter has been known for his critical views of Israeli policy and has used the word “apartheid” to describe Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. During Operation Protective Edge last summer, he condemned what he called the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and urged President Barack Obama to acknowledge Hamas’s legitimacy as a political player in the region.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/04/29/jimmy-carter-cancels-trip-to-gaza/
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Jimmy Carter Cancels Trip to Gaza to Meet with Hamas
Apr 30, 2015 | Breaking Israel News
By Lea Speyer
Former US President Jimmy Carter canceled a planned trip to Gaza to meet with Hamas officials on Thursday. No reason was given for the abrupt cancellation.
Carter is on a trip to the Middle East region on his own accord to help improve relations between rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah. The former president has urged Saudi Arabia to step in and help with mediation efforts.
“Carter has lately met with prominent Saudi officials and urged their intervention to achieve reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which was welcomed by Riyadh,” a Hamas spokesperson told Anadolu Agency. “The Saudi government has begun preparations for mediation between the two movements to reach a ‘Mecca II’ agreement.”
image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/109-RootSource-LearnMore-600WIDE.jpg
On a three day tour to Israel, Carter is expected to visit Palestinian controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. While in Israel, Carter requested meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin but was denied.
The decision to refuse Carter a meeting was because, according to a senior Israeli diplomatic official, Carter is “a disaster for Israel” with his extreme “anti-Israel stance.”
During last summer’s war between Israel and Hamas, the 39th president came out in support of the Gaza-based terror group and called on the US government to remove Hamas from its terror list.
Despite Hamas’s active use of civilians as human shields and firing rockets into Israel from densly populated civilian areas, Carter slammed Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying there was “no justification in the world for what Israel is doing.”
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/38086/jimmy-carter-cancels-trip-gaza-hamas-jerusalem/#ZeR1Goq3w8zB8uY2.99 -
Former US President Carter Cancelled Visit To His Hamas Allies in Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | The Yeshiva World News
Former US President Jimmy Carter, who maintained good ties with Yasser Arafat and his allies YM”S has been labeled persona non grata in Israel by President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Despite being shunned by Israel’s leaders, Carter was scheduled to visit with his allies in Gaza, terrorist leaders of the Hamas regime. Mr. Carter was expected in Gaza on Thursday, 11 Iyar – but for reasons unknown his visit was cancelled at the last minute.
He was scheduled to enter Gaza via the Erez Crossing for the meeting with Hamas Prime Minster Ismail Haniyeh. Carter is particularly concerned with the lack of unity between terrorist factions, Haniyeh’s Hamas and PA (Palestinian Authority) Chairman Abu Mazen’s Fatah faction.Ads By Artscroll:
Carter, known for his anti-Israel policies, also met with Saudi Arabian officials during his visit to the region. The self-proclaimed peace-maker during his tenure in the White House and after his retirement has been a staunch advocate for the establishment of a PA state and does not hide his anti-Israel position.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/305553/former-us-president-carter-cancelled-visit-to-his-hamas-allies-in-gaza.html#sthash.qtPxxwC9.dpuf
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Apr 29, 2015 | St. Louis Jewish News
Speech should be free, but that doesn’t mean free speech is or should be without consequences.
That ought to be fairly obvious to former President Jimmy Carter this week, days after Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined a request to meet with the former American leader.
From the time that Carter helped broker the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1978, his standing as a supporter of Israel has been on a fairly straight trajectory downward. From his allegations of apartheid to his suggestions that Hamas should no longer be considered a terrorist group, Carter has had no constructive or helpful words to offer Israel for decades.
The problem lies with Carter’s insistence on issuing comparisons, first between Israel and South Africa, and second between Israel and the Palestinian territories and leaders.
He’s laid the apartheid label on Israel for settlements in the West Bank, and for Israel’s denial of access by Palestinians to certain roads and areas in the territory. But one does not have to be an unconditional supporter of all settlement activity in the West Bank to understand and reject the basis of Carter’s simplistic and erroneous apartheid rhetoric.
First, the level of multiethnic, racial and religious diversity within Israel resembles South Africa not even in the slightest. Anyone who has witnessed Israel in person is aware of how the vast majority of Jews, Arabs, Palestinians and others intermingle on a constant basis in vast stretches of the nation.
Even if we apply Carter’s allegations to only the West Bank, however, the background looks quite different than it did in South Africa. These are issues of who has a claim to the land based on history, precedent and law, and the questions are complex and the answers murky.
Yes, there must be progress for there to be a workable peace, and we continue to believe that a single state will not harbor an effective solution. But to say that the goal by all in the government is to maintain a “separate but unequal” system is a serious oversimplification and doesn’t jibe with the history of the region.
Carter’s allegations about access and restrictions show a comparable lack of understanding. Most of the separations, and the installation of the security barrier (not, to be noted, a “wall” — a large majority of it made of chain-link fence topped with concertina wire), were created to reduce physical violence in the form of terrorism and otherwise. The overall level of strife today is nothing like the years of car bombings and rocket fire that previously ensued.
A similarly errant view informs Carter’s impressions of Gaza. He does not get the dynamics of what Hamas is trying to accomplish any more than he is likely to appreciate the 100,000 or so rockets that Hezbollah has reportedly amassed on the northern border of Israel at the Golan.
Carter and former Irish President Mary Robinson wrote the following in the Guardian last August:
“There is never an excuse for deliberate attacks on civilians in conflict. These are war crimes. This is true for both sides. Hamas’ indiscriminate targeting of Israeli civilians is equally unacceptable. However, two Israeli civilians and a foreign worker were killed by Palestinian fire as opposed to an overwhelming majority of civilians among the Palestinians killed, more than 400 of whom were children.”
Carter (and Robinson) have never been able to explain what mechanisms Israel can or should use to avoid fighting urban battles against an enemy that deliberately embeds its fighters within the civilian population. They can’t provide cogent explanations about the Hamas terror tunnels — yes, the same tunnels that Israel largely dismantled last summer and which are reportedly being rebuilt en masse.
Moreover, as much work as remains in the West Bank to provide a lasting peace, there’s little question of where there’s been more economic development between the West Bank and Gaza. The former is overseen by a corrupt and inept Palestinian Authority, but one that doesn’t necessarily thwart economic progress while it keeps its hand in the till. Hamas, on the other hand, rules with terror, religious tyranny and an utter inability to support true economic progress.
Carter, Robinson and their supposedly peace-supporting group of past leaders, the Elders, may have all the best intentions in the world; we certainly believe that they believe they want lasting peace.
But if they continually turn a blind eye to realities on the ground that lead to a lack of safety and security for Israeli citizens, there is no basis for Israel to treat them as partners in progress. That’s undoubtedly what Rivlin’s and Netanyahu’s ministers and security officials advised them in rejecting Carter’s request, and we have to agree.
http://www.stljewishlight.com/opinion/editorial/article_879ea7f4-ee86-11e4-8e03-efce0ff0d4cc.html
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Jimmy Carter Cancels His Trip to Gaza
Apr 29, 2015 | Jspace
By Erica Morris
Jimmy Carter has put an end to a planned visit to the Gaza Strip.
There doesn’t seem to be a reason given for the last-minute cancellation by the former US president, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Reuven Rivlin, president of Israel, had earlier rejected a meeting with Carter during the planned visit. Rivlin cited Carter’s “anti-Israel” views as the reason–Carter has over the last decades been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Strip visit was supposed to take place on April 30, when Carter would have met with Hamas leaders to talk about reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority (PA). His main goal was to get the PA and Hamas to actualize the reconciliation deal they reached last year.
The former American president has met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in the past, and in 2009 he visited Gaza and met with then-Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. Carter has been known for his critical views of Israeli policy and has used the word “apartheid” to describe Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
During Operation Protective Edge last summer, he condemned what he called the “humanitarian catastrophe” inflicted on Gaza and urged President Barack Obama to acknowledge Hamas’s legitimacy as a political player in the region.
http://www.jspacenews.com/jimmy-carter-cancels-trip-gaza/
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