Carter: No peace in Middle East without Hamas
Former US President Jimmy Carter says that the Hamas movement can be trusted and Mideast peace would be impossible without its involvement.
In an interview on NBC's Today show on Monday, former US President Jimmy Carter said that 'Hamas can be trusted' adding that the movement never deviated from its commitments as per the recent ceasefire agreement with Israel.
The former US President said that he has been promised by the organization's leaders in Damascus and Gaza that Hamas would honor agreements between Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israel, as long as they were supported by public referendum.
Carter maintained that Israel has a choice between a one-state solution - which is a catastrophe for Israel - and a two-state solution which everyone would support.
"Despite the recent lack of progress, I see this as a unique time for hope, not despair. The outlines of a peace agreement are clear and have broad international support," he claimed.
Carter noted, "There is a remarkable compatibility among pertinent United Nations resolutions, previous peace agreements reached at Camp David and in Oslo, the publicly declared policy of the United States, the Geneva Accord, key goals of the International Quartet's Roadmap for Peace, and tentative proposals made by all Arab nations for reconciliation with Israel."
Carter on Sunday met with President Barack Obama's new US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. While Carter is not certain that Obama should speak directly with Hamas, he believes that Mitchell should.
"There won't be peace in the Middle East without Hamas involvement," the former US President emphasized.
MP/MMA