DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: JIMMY CARTER OFFERS TO MEDIATE BETWEEN HAMAS & FATAH

Jimmy Carter Offers to Mediate Between Hamas, Fatah
By Julie Stahl

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - As Washington continues a policy of isolating the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, former President Jimmy Carter reportedly has offered to mediate between Hamas and rival Palestinian faction, Fatah.

The Palestinian News Agency Ma'an reported that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Scott Custer, West Bank director of the Carter Center, in Haniyeh's Gaza Strip office. Custer told Haniyeh that Carter, a Democrat, was willing to mediate between the factions. Haniyeh okayed Carter's offer, the report said.

(The Carter Center announced in May that it is "reinvigorating its presence in the Palestinian Territories in support of peace for Israel, justice for the Palestinians, and the emergence of a viable, democratic Palestinian state."

The newly opened field office in the West Bank city of Ramallah was established "to closely monitor political developments on the ground, publish periodic reports on critical issues of democratic development in the territories, and work with local partners on human rights and democracy activities.")

Carter headed the international observer mission that validated last year's Palestinian elections, which brought Hamas to power. He was also an observer in the first round of Palestinian elections in 1996 and again in the 2005 elections.

The former president's 2006 book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," created an uproar in the American Jewish and pro-Israel community, which charged that it was not only pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli -- but inaccurate.

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1) Jimmy Carter Offers to Mediate Between Hamas, Fatah