The New Nation - Internet Edition

Claude Salhani

FORMER US President Jimmy Carter has taken much flack from Israel and its supporters for meeting with Hamas officials during his Middle East tour this week. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was unable to find a few minutes to allow for a courtesy call.

In an editorial titled 'Our debt to Jimmy Carter,' Israel's Haaretz newspaper writes: "Ehud Olmert, who has not managed to achieve any peace agreement during his public life, and who even tried to undermine negotiations in the past, "could not find the time" to meet the American president who is a signatory to the peace agreement with Egypt." By now, 60 years into the Arab-Israeli dispute, and a half-dozen wars later, most people would come to realise that there can be no military solution to the crisis. Only a negotiated settlement will put an end to the decades of fighting and bloodshed.

And yet many are quick on the draw, ready to shoot down a man courageous enough to go where others have not dared venture.

For the sake of those who have forgotten their history, or perhaps chosen to forget it, it's always worth reminding that it was Carter, who as president of the United States laid the cornerstone to peace in the Middle East when he brought together Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menahem Begin at the presidential retreat at Camp David and extracted a peace treaty from Egypt and Israel; a peace treaty - imperfect as it might be - has put an end to the state of belligerency between the two countries, and which is still in effect today. And had Egypt not paved the way and entered into a peace treaty with Israel, Jordan would have never been able to follow suit, becoming the second Arab country to recognise Israel and exchange diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

In fact, had it not been for Jimmy Carter's initiative to push for peace between the Arabs and Israelis, this week's visit by Israel's Foreign Minister Tippi Livni to the Gulf state of Qatar would have never been possible. Just as a peace treaty and exchange of diplomatic relations with Mauritania, the third Arab country to officially recognise Israel, would have never been possible.

Much as former President Carter is disliked in Israel for the manner in which he views the Arab-Israeli dispute, it is important to stress the fact that both Arabs and Israelis owe much to a man who has devoted a great deal of time and energy to promote peace in a region that has been plagued by never-ending strife and violence.

Many Israelis have disliked Carter since he published his book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid."

Again Haaretz: "Israel is not ready for such comparisons, even though the situation begs it." A country which has a network of segregated roads on which Arabs may not travel, the Israeli daily points out, along with the lack of freedom of movement, Israel's control over Palestinian lands and their confiscation, and especially the continued settlement activity, which contravenes all promises Israel made and signed, a matter that cannot be accepted. It is also worth noting that one is forced to negotiate with one's enemies when seeking peace. Throughout the six decades of conflict in the Middle East violence has only bred more violence and has never been the solution to the problem. A quick scan through the history books will prove the point. The June 1967 Six-Day War gave birth to the Palestinian resistance movement. The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon propelled the creation of Hezbollah. And the continuing unrest in the West Bank and Gaza gave rise to Hamas.

Clearly, the longer the crisis continues to simmer, the more complex it becomes. Hard as it may be to comprehend or accept Jimmy Carter's initiative, to engage Hamas in talks should be encouraged, if not welcomed. War has never been the answer, let's give peace - and Jimmy Carter - a chance.