Carter: "Israel" Nixed Planned Visit to Gaza

Source: Al Manar TV, 15-04-2008
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said he'll meet with a Hamas leader at a West Bank reception Tuesday, a sign he has not been cowed by criticism of his plans to meet with the Palestinian resistance group.
Carter added that he sought permission to enter the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as well but was turned down. Carter said he had requested permission to enter Gaza from occupied territories, but 'Israel' turned him down. He might meet with other Hamas leaders while visiting Syria, he said.
Nasser al-Shaer has been invited to a reception in the West Bank town of Ramallah along with other prominent Palestinians, officials close to Hamas said Tuesday. Shaer is a leading Hamas member from the West Bank who served as deputy prime minister in the Palestinian coalition government that disintegrated last summer after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip.
Carter said that Syria and Hamas must be involved in any future peace deal. "I think it's absolutely crucial that in a final dreamed-about and prayed-for peace agreement for this region that Hamas be involved and that Syria be involved," he said at a conference near Ben Gurion Airport.
He said that while he did not know whether Hamas and Syria would be "amenable to any suggestion," he should at least be able to pass on their views to US leaders.
Both the U.S. and 'Israeli' governments have already expressed displeasure at Carter's overtures to Hamas. Carter is to meet Khaled Mashaal, the group's politburo Chief, in Damascus, Syria, on Friday.
During his visit to occupied territories earlier in the week, Carter has said isolating Hamas is counterproductive and volunteered to serve as a conduit between the group and the U.S. and 'Israeli' governments.
"I'm not a negotiator. I'm someone who might provide some communication. I'm going to try to make [Mashaal] agree to a peaceful resolution, both with 'Israel' and with Hamas's Palestinian rivals," Carter said Thursday.
'Israel's' top leaders, in a stinging rebuff, have avoided meeting Carter. Only President Shimon Peres met with the former U.S. leader, and took that occasion to tell Carter that his planned meeting with Mashaal was a grave mistake.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Monday that the U.S. has made clear our views that we did not think now is the moment for him [Carter] or anyone to be talking with Hamas.
The U.S. would be happy to hear Carter's reflections on his visit with Hamas, but it would not likely change the administration's views on the resistance group, Casey said.
Carter's plans to meet Hamas leaders have also drawn short shrift from his fellow Democrats on the White House campaign trail. Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both called Hamas a "terrorist organization" that should remain isolated until it renounces violence and recognizes 'Israel'.