"Jimmy Carter's Out Of Order Diplomacy"

DAMASCUS, Syria - The leader of Hamas said Monday that his Palestinian militant group would offer Israel a 10-year "hudna," or truce, as implicit proof of recognition of Israel if it withdrew from all lands it seized in the 1967 Middle East War.

Khaled Mashaal told The Associated Press that he made the offer to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in talks on Saturday. "We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as a proof of recognition," Mashaal said.

In his comments Monday, Mashaal used the Arabic word "hudna," meaning truce, which is more concrete than "tahdiya" — a period of calm — which Hamas often uses to describe a simple cease-fire.

"Hudna" implies a recognition of the other party's existence.

Mashaal said Hamas would accept a Palestinian state limited to the lands Israel seized in 1967 — that is, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. But he said the group would never outright formally recognize Israel.

   The unsanctioned diplomatic meeting of former President Jimmy Carter and Hamas has yielded the Hamas offer of a measly ten year truce for the 1967 UN borders of Israel and Palestine. This from a terrorist group that targets civilians and whose ultimate objective is the destruction of Israel.

Earlier, Carter said that Hamas is prepared to accept the right of Israel to “live as a neighbor next door in peace.”

Carter said the group promised it wouldn’t undermine Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum.

In the past, Hamas officials have said they would establish a “peace in stages” if Israel were to withdraw to the borders it held before 1967. But it has been evasive about how it sees the final borders of a Palestinian state and has not abandoned its official call for Israel’s destruction.

   In my opinion one should never make truces with criminals, which is what a terrorist is. Criminals are to be captured, killed in the process of resisted capture, and tried if captured. Diplomacy is in order when there is a valid basis for diplomacy. I see no reason for Israel to have any diplomatic relationship with Hamas, despite the fact the Palestinians democratically elected Hamas in their last election.

Carter also urged Israel to engage in direct negotiations with the Islamic militant group, saying it was a “problem” that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with Hamas. Both governments consider it a terrorist organization.

“The problem is not that I met with Hamas in Syria,” he said. “The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved.”

“There’s no doubt that both the Arab world and Hamas will accept Israel’s right to exist in peace within 1967 borders,” he said.

In his comments Monday, Carter said Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking has “regressed” since a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md., in November.

Israel has been negotiating directly with Abbas, who heads a moderate government based in the West Bank. Abbas lost control of the Gaza Strip last June, when Hamas violently seized control of that territory.

   Former President  and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter could have better served the Palestinian and Israeli people better by urging Hamas to first return control of Gaza security and economy to Fatah and the Mahmoud Abbas led Palestinian Authority.

On March 17, 2007 a Palestinian unity government was formed incorporating members of both Hamas and Fatah, with Ismail Haniyeh as Prime Minister and independent politicians taking many key portfolios.

On June 14, 2007 Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led unity government of prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, declared a state of emergency, and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place. This followed action by Hamas armed forces to take control of Palestinian Authority positions that were in control of US and Israeli-armed and supported Fatah militias. The appointment of Fayyad to replace Haniyeh has been challenged as illegal, because under the Palestinian Basic Law, the President of the Palestinian Authority may dismiss a sitting prime minister, but may not appoint a replacement without the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council. According to the law, until a new prime minister is thus appointed, the outgoing prime minister heads a caretaker government. Fayyad's appointment was never placed before, or approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council.[21] For this reason, Ismail Haniyeh the Hamas prime minister has continued to operate in Gaza, and be recognized as by a large number of Palestinians as the legitimate caretaker prime minister. Anis al-Qasem, the Palestinian constitutional lawyer who drafted the Basic Law, is among those who publicly declared Abbas' appointment of Fayyad to be illegal

   As I see it, there can be no peace between Israel and the Palestinian territories of  Gaza and the West Bank until there is a stable, secure and united Palestinian authority that will at least acknowledge Israel's right to exist without fear of attacks on it's citizens. Jimmy Carter's diplomatic efforts in this matter were out of order and irrelevant to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, in my opinion.

However, Carter said Hamas rejected his specific proposal for a monthlong unilateral cease-fire.

tags: jimmy carter  israel  palestine  mahmous abbas  hamas  fatah  middleeast  us  war  warpeace  

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