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Carter in Syria: Israel Must Fully Lift Gaza Blockade
Former U.S. President meets with Syrian President Assad and Hamas politburo chief Meshal in Damascus.
Carter made the remarks in the forum of a delegation known as The Elders, who met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hamas leaders in Syria.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter holds his book up at a book signing on Dec. 12, 2006. (Photo by: AP) Despite the U.S. and the European Union's labeling of Hamas as a terrorist organization, The Elders met with exiled Hamas politburo leader Khaled Meshal, as Carter has done during previous regional visits.
Following their talks with Assad and Meshal, The Elders said people in the region have "very low expectations" that the current U.S.-led talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which excluded Hamas, would succeed.
Carter, who has visited the Gaza Strip several times in recent years, did not accompany the rest of the delegation on their trip there Saturday.
Despite his absence from Gaza, Carter renewed calls for Israel to lift its blockade of the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip. Israel imposed the blockade in 2007 after Hamas wrestled control over the territory in a violent coup.
"The blockade is one of the most serious human rights violations on Earth and it must be lifted fully," said Carter from Syria.
Besides Carter, the Elders delegation includes former Irish president Mary Robinson and former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. While in Gaza, the group described Israel's blockade as an "illegal collective punishment" and "an impediment to peace."
The Elders, who were in Cairo earlier this week, are next scheduled to hold talks with leaders and civil society groups in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank.
On the same day that The Elders called on Palestinian political factions to unite, the West Bank-based Fatah cancelled a reconciliation meeting with Hamas that was scheduled to take place this week in Syria.
According to Hamas official Azzam Ahmad, Fatah did not want to hold the meeting in Syria and formally requested "to change the venue of the meeting from Damascus to any other Arab country," without specifying a particular state.
Sources close to Hamas told the German news agency DPA that the decision to cancel talks in Damascus was a result of a dispute between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Assad in Libya earlier this month.
The two had met there as part of a larger Arab League meeting to discuss diplomatic alternatives to Israel's renewed settlement construction in the West Bank.
55 Comments so far
Show AllWow; Jimmy Carter you just get better with age!
If only Amerika listened to you?
Yes he gets better with age, but let's not forget that he began the support of radical islamic militias in Afghanistsn. The destructive implications of this policy still reverberate in Afghanistan and throughout the middle east.
I sometimes wonder if any righteous action by anyone could ever escape a "yes but" response in these forums.
And let me hasten to be first to acknowledge that I'm not guiltless myself.
That and I see he's hawking another book. Geez what a whore, I'm sure he doesn't need the money.
Another lookit me moment.
>^^<
That book is several years old, and I might add, he got viciously attacked for writing it. He is a very good man, and I bless him for his efforts to help the Palestinians. A man of peace such as Jimmy Carter, is not valued in this violent world. He has great courage to speak out against Israel's brutality.
Jimmy Carter is a great man of peace. He has credibility as a negotiator around the world.
Jimmy Carter is accused of plagiarizing in this very book, getting people into bad loans on crappy houses in Habitat, and a host of other things he did wrong which got him fired. My how blind people can be to the truth.
Gee, Mymicz123, why not toss in that he's "accused" of being the real killer of JonBenet Ramsey?
It's just a friendly tip, but I suggest you bring more than weak unsubstantiated "accusations" and innuendo ("fired"? fired from what?) before pontificating about anyone else's blindness to the truth.
How about he increased shipments of arms to Indonesia fully knowing they were being used to carry on a Genocide in East Timor.
I must say, tho, that as far as War Criminals go, he is one of, if not the best for human rights and peace.
Now if only he would make a public apology to East Timor, He'd probably garner even more respect.
@ herdpoisoning:
How about none of that has anything to do with the matter at hand: the genocide and Apartheid of the Palestinian people by Israel?
If Jimmy Carter made a public apology to anyone, it should be to the American people for not ending the toxic relationship between Israel and the US when he had a chance. Next, he could apologize to the Palestinians. Or maybe, this is what he is doing now, if not in those words.
OK JImmy, the peacemakers are on the move...
We did it Folks!
You can't bullshit all the people all the time!
What Carter suggests makes total sense if the Israel govt wants peace, but they don't. That's also the reason why they and the US won't accept any steps that Iran makes towards resolving the problem. Peace is simply not on their agenda.
It is obvious, right in front of our faces, that the Israeli-US-EU blockade of Gaza is illegal and is a war crime. Yet, it continues. Thank you, Jimmy Carter, for pointing out what is obvious. President Obama? Can you see? Can you hear? Can you think? You have more power than anyone else on Earth, and yet you agree to support, fund, and protect such war crimes.
Naaa, Obama doesn't have any power, he's a hired shill.
" Israel imposed the blockade in 2007 after Hamas wrestled control over the territory in a violent coup."
Disinformation and propaganda.
There was no violent coup. Hamas won an internationally sanctioned election. Israel and the US thought that Fatah would win, and when they lost, they spurred the two groups into armed conflict where Hamas ended up pushing Fatah out of the Gaza Strip. Fatah and Abbas are illegitimate representatives, engaging in meaningless talks with the rouge state of Israel.
Thanks Higgs! I was getting ready to write the exact same thing, but it looks like you beat me to it!
Thanks Higgs, from me as well. It is incredible how loose the press is with the truth. Perhaps careless is too kind a characterization. That is just a blabbermouth lie in service of apartheid and empire.
Joe
Ditto!
They (MSM) normally parrot the same line word for word: "After Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007..."
This a marked shift in the wording; now we have "wrestled" and "violent coup".
Was the old line of BS getting worn and threadbare and in need of a "makeover"?
Note to all MSM writers (journalist is too strong a term) -cut and paste this new wording or download it from the propaganda server.
Thanks Sanctuary for pointing this out. This is the kind of shift in language that speaks volumes about the professionalism and integrity of the press, the mis-educated and superficial writers, and the intentions of those who run the papers. This particular re-vision of history is now two versions removed from anything resembling fact. Over time, these lies paint a picture that is widely accepted unless people like you who have a memory and critical thinking skills call them on it - and even then....
Joe
I would take it a step further and say that Fatah wrested control over the West Bank in a violent coup.
Since Hamas was the legitimately elected government, the armed conflict that gave control of the West Bank to Fatah was a violent coup.
The myth that Hamas gained power in Gaza through a coup is endlessly repeated in the zionist controlled US media.
Thats the trouble with democracy, you can't dictate the outcome.
George and the boy's were upset that the Palestinians in Gaza didn't follow their script. Obama has continued the farce that Hamas did not win a legal and honest election. Everbody and his brother were watching that election, it had to be honest.
Bravo Carter. He deserves all our good wishes--the best post-president ever.
If Hamas is not involved in the talks and final agreement, there is little sense in having "talks"
Carter is the best ex- president we have had.
The U.S, Navy should send two carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean to supervise the breaking of the blockade of Gaza by U.S. merchant ships bringing food and medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
This one action would do more for world peace than everything else the U.S. is involved with combined.
I have been calling for this since before Obama was elected and thought, at that time, that there was a reasonable chance that Obama might order such an action.
When a carrier group was sent to the eastern Mediterranean just prior to the Israeli 1967 attack on its neighbors, the forward based intelligence ship, the USS Liberty, was attacked. Scores of American Navy sailors were killed in the hours long attack on the ship by the Israeli air force and navy. Pres. Johnson ordered back the U.S. aircraft lofted to defend the vessel. The vessel and surviving sailors were saved by the Russians. I believe that this is a major reason that Johnson did not run for re-election.
In the latest Isreali outrage, an American youth was executed by the Israeli commandos who stormed the peace flotilla. Obama has been silent on this as he and every other U.S. president has been silent on Israeli criminal aggression.
It is more likely that the U.S. would send a carrier group to enforce the blockade.
My take on the Greek financial crises is that Greece was punished for refusing to let ships resupplying Israel with munitions for the massacre and rampage in Lebanon.
The Isaeli White Supremacist rulers dismiss Carter as a virulent anti-Semite. They have the full financial and political support of Obama and the Empire Inc. Nothing will happen until the Palestinians die, leave or the Empire collapses -whichever comes first.
Ummm, Palestinians are closer genetically to Europeans than Arabs, look it up, recent study.
Over 50% of Israelis however show direct genetic links to the ME while the other 50% have interbred and are watered down.
Palestinians are GREEK it's even a Greek name.
Jews are genetically closer linked.
But in Israel they live side by side.
While in Gaza they are segregated by Hamas which kills the Jews.
Only truth to know is that you don't know the truth about genetics or history or race.
Wow, have you ever read any Shlomo Sand, Norman Finkelstein or Ilan Pape? Do you think we are stupid? You are an insulting troll who just appeared from thin air.
Or more likely: you are a paid Hasbarist propaganda artist advocating for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
I noticed that you did not address my post, and very typically tried to hijack the conversation. Nice try.
This is what I tell all of you racist imperialist apologists for the US Empire and the Apartheid State of Israel: bugger off to Fluffington Post.
They are more gullible there and you will be much more effective brow-beating them into submission with your usual "anti-Semite this and Self-Hating-Jew that" bullshit.
Now off you go...
You may be right, socialist, but I doubt this pathetic excuse for a Hasbarist is getting paid.
The regular knee-jerk defenders of the Zionist terror state must all be away getting training, leaving this volunteer or rent-a-cop security guard to hold down the fort.
Yes of course OS, silly me. That is the more likely case. The first stringers at least can come up with a bit more sophisticated propaganda.
You're wrong, boys. Look at the first posts and look at NoHalo's comments. As virulent and ignorant as a troll can get. And using all the code words too like "anti-semitic," "jew/Israel hater," "lover of Islam" - blah blah blah - puke, puke, puke.
As Hamas are the democratically elected representatives of the Palistinian people, what is the point of "negotiating" with the boot-licking Fatah installed by Israel and the USA?
The question is itself based on a questionable assumption about actual negotiation. The reality is that preventing any solution is an existential necessity for the "Jewish State" of Greater Israel.
Exactly what type of democratically elected government kills over 600 Fatah members to get elected?????
Where did you get this "information"? Please give citations.
Best source of information known: his ass. Oops! I meant to say, "his hat"
deleted
Making stuff up? Propaganda to confuse people?
It was a fair election. Even Abbas didn't contest it.
Jan 2006 AP article on the Hama's election victory.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8FCGM987&show_article=1
Don't forget that the west wall of the Gaza concentration camp is being kept up by US paid Egyptian guards.
Carter should have shown this courage when he was president. To bad so many people in our government believe lies. To blind to see and to deaf to hear. How sad for the Palestinians.
I appreciate Mr. Carter's concerns for Palestine, but I would hate it if Obama did the same thing Jimmy did.
REWIND: Here Is Jimmy Carter When He Was President:
"We have a special relationship with Israel... committment... to protect the right of Israel to exist permanently... special relationship. " (Source: The White House, May 12, 1977)
"I would rather commit suicide than hurt Israel... I think political suicide would automatically result... because it is not only our Jewish citizens... overwhelming support throughout the nation, because there is a common bond of commitment to the same principles of openness and freedom... courage that ties us together in an irrevocable way. (October 22, 1977 speech to the Democratic National Committee [DNC])
"We have a committment to the preservation of Israel as a nation... who have suffered so much... absolutely permanent and unshakeable. The ties... of blood, kinship, ties of history, ties of common religious beliefs, the dream, centuries old, of the founding of the new nation of Israel have been realized. (Source: The White House, March 21, 1978)
"The special relationship... Our total committments to Israel's security... preeminent among all the other considerations... (Source: The White House, May 26, 1978)
"I would like to emphasize, in the strongest possible terms, that our aid for Israel is not only altruistic; indeed, our close relationship with Israel is in the moral and the strategic interest of the United States... Let me assure you that in this negotiation, as we work for the legitimate rights of the Palestinians... we will countenance no action whcih could hurt Israel's security... Israel's security is so closely linked to the security of the United States of America.
"... I am opposed to an independent Palestinian state... would certainly not serve the United States interests. (Jimmy Carter at the United Jewish Appeal National Young Leadership Conference, February 25, 1980).
"... And we oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state. The United States, as all of you know, has a warm and unique relationship of friendship with Israel that is morally right.
"We are committed to Israel's right to live... free from terrorism. We are committed to a Jerusalem that will forever remain undivided... "(Source: First anniversary of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty / White House joint conference, March 23, 1980).
The United States...has a warm and a unique relationship of friendship with Israel that is morally right. It is compatible with our deepest religious convictions, and it is right in terms of America's own strategic interests. We are committed to Israel's security, prosperity, and future as a land that has so much to offer the world.
I fully understand and appreciate your position. It is sensible, reasonable and logical.
Still, while I totally get the fact that Carter expressed his current, (I believe) true opinion about the situation in Palestine ONLY AFTER he left office, and thus was no longer vulnerable to the associated/automatic political ramifications, I have no choice but to appreciate, even admire his work, because it is so very relevant and potentially useful.
Most American politicians, even after their political career is over, continue to parrot the untenable position that we should support Israel's illegal, immoral, systematic abuse of the indigenous people of Palestine, and facilitate the imperialistic dreams of Israel's Zionist rogue state, because, I believe, they are so terrified of the Israel lobby.
All the violence, and threat thereof, make me sick.
"Eisenhower clearly was more courageous, in directly confronting the issue of the ELITE's EMPIRE machinery . . . ."
Really? Eisenhower made his "military-industrial complex" speech as he was walking out the door of his presidency.
q
Good for Jimmy Carter and Amerika will not know of his inner strength, and work for world peace for another 25 years. But, by then, Amerika will be gone and destroyed by world III. We must all love each other or die...simple. As for blogs we should do more actions and less words over cyber-space.
We love you, Jimmy Carter! It speaks volumes about the USA, that the President that many consider to be the "worst" is in fact an honourable person with real integrity.
I have very mixed feelings about Jimmy Carter and question the ingenuity of a lot of his actions. No doubt, he could have ended the toxic relationship between the US and Israel when he was in power but why didn't he? However, that's water under the bridge and I applaud him on this one effort, even if a bit too late. He's got a lot of flock from the Chosen People on this and he hasn't backed down yet. So, all the more power to him. The Palestinians sure can sue all the help they can get.
If Palestinians are Greeks the West owes a debt to them for their ancient culture. Palestinians are from Palestine and they need our support.