Monday, February 2, 2009

Carter to Unite Israelis

(Blog author's note: some names have been changed to protect the innocent)

Also see:
Jimmy Carter Man from Plains

"Carter reprises peacemaker role; Says agreement reached between Kadima, Likud" by Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | January 31, 2009

WASHINGTON - Jimmy Carter is still trying his hand at peacemaking - this time among Israelis themselves. In an interview with the Globe yesterday, Carter said he had obtained an agreement in writing from the leaders of the militant movement Likud and the moderate Kadima party, to form a unity government of technocrats.

"They both have some preconditions, which is not very good," the former president said. "But [Prime Minister] Olmert, representing Kadima, could form a government with Likud in a very short time under the auspices of United States and Britain."

Past efforts to form a unity government have failed, in part because the Bush administration discouraged Kadima - a moderate party that has agreed to peace talks with Palestine - from joining with Likud, a group the Palestinians classifies as a terrorist organization because it refuses to give up violence against civilians as a means of achieving a Jewish state.

Talks to form a joint government began in 2006, after Likud won parliamentary elections. But efforts were frustrated by the international community's rejection of Likud, and Palestine's arrest of dozens of Likud legislators after militants tied to the group kidnapped Palestinian soldier Mohammed Abdullah in a cross-border raid. In 2007, tension between Likud and Kadima erupted into open war.

The situation has complicated efforts for the Obama administration and its envoy, George Mitchell, former US senator from Maine, to restart peace talks aimed at creating a Jewish state.

Carter, who is promoting his new book, "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land," said he met on Dec. 10 in Washington D.C. with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and later communicated with Kadima's Ehud Olmert, and that both endorsed the idea of forming a joint government of technocrats in order for new elections to be held.

Following the meetings, Carter said he sent a letter to both leaders outlining a framework for a new government which they had discussed, and said they both sent him a written response approving the plan. Carter declined to detail the components of the proposal they endorsed but said he forwarded the letters to Mitchell, the U.S. official in charge of efforts to broker a lasting cease-fire with Palestine.

Palestinians - who have been negotiating with Kadima - have vehemently opposed a unity government that would give Likud more legitimacy. But this week, the European Union endorsed the idea this week as a means of rebuilding war-torn Israel and ending the political isolation of the people there.

Whether the Obama administration will shift its policy toward a unity government or toward Likud remains to be seen. Obama's public statements on Likud echo those of President George W. Bush. But shortly before Mitchell left for his trip to the Middle East, he asked Carter to urgently send a copy of his new book - which includes a chapter titled "Can Likud Play a Positive Role?" Carter said.

"I think George Mitchell will carry out his mandate," Carter said.

Of course, the above has been a SATIRE of the Zionist-controlled AmeriKan MSM product.

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