Carter in Gaza

Former Pres. Jimmy Carter has been in the Middle East. On Tues. June 16, he toured Gaza where he held a press conference with Hamas P.M. Ismail Haniyeh.

Since Carter's visit to Gaza was not in local papers, here are some news excerpts:

From CNN via CommonDreams:

Among the sites he visited was the American school that was destroyed by the bombings Israel initiated in response to rocket attacks launched from Gaza into southern Israel.

"It is very distressing to me. I have to hold back tears when I see the deliberate destruction that has been raked against your people.

"I come to the American school which was educating your children, supported by my own country. I see it's been deliberately destroyed by bombs from F16s made in my country and delivered to the Israelis. I feel partially responsible for this -- as must all Americans and all Israelis," Carter said at a news conference.

"The only way to avoid this tragedy happening again is to have genuine peace," he added, pointing out that many Palestinians are now fighting each other in the West Bank and Gaza because of their affiliations with Hamas or Fatah.

"It's very important that Palestinians agree with each other, to cooperate and stop attacking each other and to build a common approach to an election that I hope to witness and observe next January the 25th."

After the briefing, Carter headed to a graduation ceremony for students who completed a human rights curriculum provided by UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

"The human rights curriculum is teaching children about their rights and also about their responsibilities," Carter said in his speech to graduates.

In his speech to graduates, Carter said bombings, tanks and a continuing economic siege have brought death, destruction, pain and suffering to Gaza. "Tragically, the international community largely ignores the cries for help, while the citizens of Gaza are treated more like animals than human beings."

"The responsibility for this terrible human rights crime lies in Jerusalem, Cairo, Washington, and throughout the international community," Carter said.

From Al-Jazeera English:

"This is holy land for us all and my hope is that we can have peace ... all of us are children of Abraham," the former US president said during a joint news conference with Ismail Haniya, the deposed Hamas Palestinian prime minister, in Gaza City.

Following a tour of the area to see the effects of Israel's offensive, Carter said: "My primary feeling today is one of grief and despair and an element of anger when I see the destruction perpetrated against innocent people in January.

He said the Palestinians had been treated "like animals" and the deprivations faced by them in Gaza were unique in history.

...

The former president said ... that he would be reporting his findings from his trip to Gaza and the Middle East back to Barack Obama, the US president.

...

Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said: "The symbolism [of the visit] is important, raising the issue of the suffering of the Palestinian people through the international media following Carter through Gaza."

Carter is believed to have delivered a note to Haniyeh from the parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who has been held since 2006.

Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said: "The Israelis will take from Carter what he can offer, for example, the fact that he was able to carry a letter from the family of Gilad Schalit, a letter which will be presumably delivered to Schalit.

"But his criticism won't be taken that seriously given that he is not speaking on behalf of the US administration."

Mohyeldin said that Carter had earlier met with families of Palestinian prisoners, including an eight-year-old girl who had never met her father as he has been in an Israeli jail since she was born.

"So he [Carter] is taking back with him a letter from the Palestinian people to give to Israeli officials, so certainly in that capacity he is also acting as a semi-official mediator between Palestinians and Israelis," Mohyeldin said.

From the Institute for Public Accuracy via CommonDreams:

WASHINGTON - June 16 - The British newspaper the Guardian reports today that Jimmy Carter, who has been in Israel and just met with top Hamas officials in Gaza, said of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's recent speech: "My opinion is he raised many new obstacles to peace that had not existed under previous prime ministers. ... He still apparently insists on expansion of existing settlements, he demands that the Palestinians and the Arabs recognize Israel as a Jewish state, although 20 percent of its citizens here are not Jews. This is a new demand."

Cater also stated: "To me, the most grievous circumstance is the maltreatment of the people in Gaza, who are literally starving and have no hope at this time. ... They're being treated like savages. The alleviation of their plight to some means I think would be the most important [thing] the Israeli PM could do."