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Carter meets Hamas chief in Syria Carter meets Hamas chief in Syria
(about 4 hours later)
Former US President Jimmy Carter is holding talks with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Syria. Former US President Jimmy Carter has held talks with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Syria.
Ways of including Hamas in peace talks and the fate of an Israeli prisoner are expected to be on the agenda. No immediate comment was made but the two were expected to discuss how to include the militant group in peace talks and an Israeli captive's fate.
Mr Carter has also met the Syrian and Israeli presidents during his Middle East tour to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The meeting had been opposed by Israel and the US, which consider Hamas a terrorist group.
Other senior Israelis have snubbed Mr Carter, but one minister has said he is willing to break policy and meet Hamas. Mr Carter earlier met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the peace process and Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Mr Carter has said he is not trying to mediate in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but believes peace will not be achieved without talking to Hamas and Syria.
Israel, the US and the European Union all refuse to deal with the group directly and pursue policies to isolate it.
Gaza boycott
Mr Carter, awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, brokered the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the first between Israel and an Arab state.Mr Carter, awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, brokered the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the first between Israel and an Arab state.
Mr Meshaal, who survived an assassination attempt by Israeli agents in 1997, became Hamas political chief after Israel's killing of the group's founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in March 2004. "You can't have an agreement that must involve certain parties, unless you talk to those parties to conclude the agreement... You have to involve Hamas," he said in Cairo on Thursday.
He has said that Hamas accepts and supports the Arab peace initiative, which offers peace and recognition to Israel in return for a full withdrawal from the land captured in 1967 in the West Bank, the dismantling of Jewish settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem. Khaled Meshaal has said Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire
In his four-hour meeting with Mr Meshaal, the former US president was also expected to ask Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas gunmen seized control of Gaza in June last year from their rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which has been left in control of the West Bank.
An Israeli boycott of Gaza has isolated the small territory and further deepened the poverty of its 1.4 million residents.
Mr Meshaal has said that Hamas accepts and supports an Arab peace initiative, which offers peace and recognition to Israel in return for a full withdrawal from the land captured in 1967 in the West Bank, the dismantling of Jewish settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem.
He says Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire, that would also include the West Bank and which would reopen Gaza's borders - but anything else would be Israel dictating a Palestinian "surrender".He says Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire, that would also include the West Bank and which would reopen Gaza's borders - but anything else would be Israel dictating a Palestinian "surrender".
'Forgotten lessons' 'Risk of misrepresentation'
Israeli industry minister Eli Yishai told Mr Carter he was willing to meet Hamas for talks - including Mr Meshaal - to discuss the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli officials snubbed Mr Carter, saying to meet him would create the impression of negotiating with Hamas.
Were Jimmy Carter to have met with me, and two days later with Khaled Meshaal, it could have created a facade of negotiations between us and Hamas Ehud Olmert, Israeli Prime Minister Israeli industry minister Eli Yishai, however, told Mr Carter he was willing to meet Hamas representatives - including Mr Meshaal - for talks to discuss the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Palestinian militant groups including Hamas captured Mr Shalit in a raid into Israel two years ago. Cpl Shalit was captured by Hamas in a raid into Israel from Gaza two years ago. Hamas has said it will swap Mr Shalit for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Such a meeting involving Mr Yishai - the leader of the orthodox Shas party - would be against Israeli government policy. Shas is an important member of the governing coalition in Israel, holding four cabinet posts.Such a meeting involving Mr Yishai - the leader of the orthodox Shas party - would be against Israeli government policy. Shas is an important member of the governing coalition in Israel, holding four cabinet posts.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper he did not meet Mr Carter as it would have been perceived as negotiations with Hamas. Washington has played down Mr Carter's trip, saying he is acting in a personal capacity and that there is "some risk" that his talks with Hamas "will be misrepresented" by the group.
"Were Jimmy Carter to have met with me, and two days later with Khaled Meshaal, it could have created a facade of negotiations between us and Hamas," he said. After Syria, Mr Carter is due to travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Other cabinet ministers have raised doubts about Mr Yishai being allowed to negotiate a prisoner deal alone.
Khaled Meshaal has said Hamas wants a mutual ceasefire
Israel's welfare minister, Yitzak Hertzog, accused Mr Carter of lending credibility to what some countries class as a terrorist group.
"He's giving this image some sort of recognition with one of the world's most brutal arch terrorists and, worst of all, I think Jimmy Carter is forgetting the lessons of 9/11," he said.
"And Jimmy Carter, in a way, is forgetting his own legacy."
The United States, which is trying to isolate Hamas, has distanced itself from Mr Carter's trip, saying it is in a personal capacity and not helpful to the peace process.
After Syria, he is due to travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The former US president has said he is not trying to mediate in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but believes peace will not be achieved without talking to Hamas and Syria.
Israel, the US and the European Union consider the Islamist militant movement Hamas a terrorist organisation, refuse to deal with it directly and all pursue policies to isolate it.