On the backdrop of his forthcoming controversial meeting
with Hamas
politburo chief Khaled Mashaal in Damascus, former US President Jimmy Carter visited the rocket-battered Israeli town of Sderot on Monday.
During the visit, Carter said that the rocket fire directed at the southern city was a crime and that he would work to secure a ceasefire.
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| Carter 'quite at ease' about meeting Hamas' Mashaal / Yitzhak Benhorin |
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Former US president arrives in Israel as part of week-long Mideast tour, defends his scheduled Damascus meeting with Hamas leader. 'It's very important that at least someone meet with the Hamas leaders to try to induce them to stop all attacks against innocent civilians in Israel and cooperate with Fatah,' he says |
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Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal took Carter to the observation post overlooking the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon. The guest showed an interest in the distances between Gaza and the nearby communities and in the warning time before rockets land in Israel.
Moyal told the former US president that the reality in the area was intolerable. "They target innocent civilians. There is no army here, no cannons, no missiles, no aircraft – only children, women and elderly people exposed to Hamas' terror," he said.
Carter examines Qassam remnants (Photo: Ze'ev Trachtman)
Earlier Monday, Carter met with Knesset Member Yossi Beilin (Meretz).
The two discussed the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit
and the Qassam rockets fired from Gaza.
During the meeting, Carter said that a deal for Shalit's release was possible and said that he would raise the issue in his meeting with Hamas' Mashaal. Addressing the controversial meeting, the former president said that he would not refrain from meeting anyone as part of his efforts to solve international disputes.
On Sunday, Carter met
with Gilad Shalit's father, Noam. "The fact that Carter is not considered pro-Israeli, as American tradition dictates, could make it easier for him to meet with certain officials and raise ideas that would be subject to distrust had they come from others' mouths," Shalit told Ynet.
President Shimon Peres also met with Carter on Sunday, and criticized his anti-Israeli comments over the past few years. During the difficult meeting, Peres thanked Carter for his contribution to the peace treaty signed between Israel
and Egypt,
but also said that Carter's comments and meetings had hurt Israel. He also condemned Carter's intention to meet with Mashaal in Damascus.
Amnon Meranda contributed to this report
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