Jimmy Carter: Hamas a 'Legitimate Political Actor'

Jimmy Carter: Hamas a 'Legitimate Political Actor'             

9:02 AM, Aug 5, 2014 • By JERYL BIER

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/jimmy-carter-hamas-legitimate-political-actor_802054.html

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter takes to ForeignPolicy.com to argue that the key to ending the current war in Gaza is "recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor." Writing along with fellow "Elder" Mary Robinson (part of an "international group of elder statesmen"), the former president pins the blame for the current conflict on Israel's refusal to appreciate a "major concession" made by Hamas in April and to recognize the new Palestinian government formed by the Hamas-Fatah "reconciliation":

This tragedy results from the deliberate obstruction of a promising move toward peace in the region, when a reconciliation agreement among the Palestinian factions was announced in April. This was a major concession by Hamas, in opening Gaza to joint control under a technocratic government that did not include any Hamas members. The new government also pledged to adopt the three basic principles demanded by the Middle East Quartet comprised of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia: nonviolence, recognition of Israel, and adherence to past agreements. Tragically, Israel rejected this opportunity for peace and has succeeded in preventing the new government's deployment in Gaza.

While Carter and Robinson excoriate Israel for its conduct of the war, Hamas escapes with only a single reference to its "war crimes" (committed by "both sides") as "unacceptable":

There is no humane or legal justification for the way the Israeli Defense Forces are conducting this war. Israeli bombs, missiles, and artillery have pulverized large parts of Gaza, including thousands of homes, schools, and hospitals. More than 250,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinian noncombatants have been killed. Much of Gaza has lost access to water and electricity completely. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.

There is never an excuse for deliberate attacks on civilians in conflict. These are war crimes. This is true for both sides. Hamas's indiscriminate targeting of Israeli civilians is equally unacceptable. However, three Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets, while an overwhelming majority of the 1,600 Palestinians killed have been civilians, including more than 330 children. The need for international judicial proceedings to investigate and end these violations of international law should be taken very seriously.

Carter and Robinson conclude:

The United States and EU should recognize that Hamas is not just a military but also a political force... Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor -- one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people -- can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons...

Ultimately, however, lasting peace depends on the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel

Carter was awarded the Nobel prize in 2002 for "his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

The entire Hamas article can be found here.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter is a Nobel Foundation Nobel peace prize winner, a member of The Elders, and was an honorary co-chairman for the Millennium Promise.

Note: Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Millennium Promise, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.

Kofi A. Annan is a board member for the International Crisis Group, a Nobel Foundation Nobel peace prize winner, the chairman for The Elders, and a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

Jessica Tuchman Mathews is the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a board member for the International Crisis Group, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Ed Griffin’s interview with Norman Dodd in 1982

(The investigation into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population control by involving the United States in war)

http://www.illuminati-news.com/110106a.htm           

Haim Saban is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a friend of Shimon Peres, a benefactor for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, a board member at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the treasurer for the Saban Family Foundation, and was a major contributor for the 2011 Rahm Emanuel mayoral campaign.

Shimon Peres is a friend of Haim Saban, and the president of Israel.

Saban Center for Middle East Policy is a policy center for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Saban Family Foundation was a funder for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Crown Family Foundation is a funder for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

Lester Crown is a VP at the Crown Family Foundation, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Newton N. Minow is the president of the Crown Family Foundation, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago       

R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Rahm I. Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration, the candidate for the 2011 Rahm Emanuel mayoral campaign, a civilian volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces.

Haim Saban was a major contributor for the 2011 Rahm Emanuel mayoral campaign, is a friend of Shimon Peres, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a benefactor for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, a board member at the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and the treasurer for the Saban Family Foundation.

Shimon Peres is a friend of Haim Saban, and the president of Israel.