Jimmy Carter: "Israelis' Policy Is to Confiscate Palestinian Territory"

[malaise]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-braw/jimmy-carter-israelis-pol_b_2144182.html
<snip>
Israel and Gaza are again attacking each other, Syria is descending into civil war, four American diplomats killed in Libya: the Middle East is more fragile than ever. "Both sides should cease all hostilities," says former US President Jimmy Carter. "Israel should end its blockade of Gaza, and Western countries should work to facilitate reconciliation between Hamas and their Palestinian rival, Fatah. As long as Gaza remains isolated, the situation in and around Gaza will remain volatile."

Israel's leaders don't want a Palestinian state, Carter tells Metro in an exclusive interview with Metro. Carter, who still conducts international negotiations and is now a member The Elders, won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. He just returned from a visit to the Middle East.

The chances of a Palestinian state are fading. Whose job is it to fix this situation?

The peace process has been pretty well dormant for the past three years. Of course, in the past we played a key role in being the mediator and conveyer of meetings, but that's not happening either. The first priority would be for the Israelis and Palestinians to take the initiative. But the Israelis have continued with their massive settlement program in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the Palestinians say they won't negotiate as long as Israel is continuing to take over their territory, so there's deadlock. The United States is looked upon by the rest of the international community as the primary interlocutor, so the European Union members don't take action. As a result, there's no intermediary who can move things forward and initiate peace talks.

President Obama says he supports a Palestinian state, but even so there's a deadlock. Does it take even more than the support of a US President to get a Palestinian state?

I think the big change is that the Israeli leaders have decided to abandon the two-state solution. Their policy now is to confiscate Palestinian territory, and they've announced publicly that it the Palestinians have to recognize not just Israel but Israel as a Jewish state, even though 20% of the Israeli community are non-Jews. Netanyahu has also decided that even the Jordan valley has to be under Israeli control. So, those factors indicate quite clearly that Netanyahu has decided that the two-state solution is not what he wants. He wants what is being called Greater Israel, Eretz Israel. That's a new development, and I think everyone recognizes this.

The Arab Spring had worldwide support. Now four diplomats have been killed and the region is considered less safe. Are dictators sometimes better than democracy?

A: I don't think so at all. For example, the Egyptian people had a very safe series of elections. As the Carter Center, we monitored several of these elections, and have also monitored the elections in Tunisia and Libya. I don't think there's any doubt that the termination of the dictators has been a major beneficial development. The outside world just tends to be too impatient. The United States declared our independence from Britain in 1776, and it wasn't until 12 years later that we had a constitution. Egypt is going to have a constitution within a year of the President assuming power.




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Carter has been right on Israel v Palestine for ages. I'd like to see a Carter interview on Current TV.

[PDJane]

1. Jimmy Carter is right, and has always been right.

He sees clearly.

[hifiguy]

2. Thank you President Carter

for telling the unvarnished truth. Mr Carter is the only person in the US with both the visibility and courage to meaningfully call bullshit on Netanyahoo and his right-wing allies.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended, I would also like to see Jimmy in a Current T.V. interview.

Thanks for the thread, malaise.

[garthranzz]

4. Last time I posted the facts the post was hidden

So I'll just trash this thread, as it deserves.

[ohiosmith]

13. This post was alerted on. Tick Tock!

[ohiosmith]

14. Update. The jury voted 5/1 to let the post stand.

At Fri Nov 16, 2012, 04:51 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Last time I posted the facts the post was hidden
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1833609

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Is dismissive and adds nothing to the discussion.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Fri Nov 16, 2012, 04:57 PM, and the Jury voted 1-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Not severe enough
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: While I don't understand why he wasted hi time writing this " non-post ", I find it more puzzling, than dismissive.
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT and said: Troll
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Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Doesnt violate CS
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: This alert is dismissive and adds nothing to the discussion. Leave the post.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

5. That's been my take on it. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Note to Obama: Still looking for a new Secretary of State?

[malaise]

9. He's 88

No way

[sabrina 1]

36. His grandson is not 88!

[malaise]

44. LOL

[Indykatie]

7. Thank You President Carter for Saying What Others Are Afraid to Say About Israel's Intent

[NightWatcher]

10. what you said.....+1

[Whisp]

11. +++++

fuckin' bibi

[bunnies]

22. Yep. nt

[HiPointDem]

8. kr.

[Hydra]

12. Good post and a big thank you to Jimmy Carter!

Israel isn't going to do the right thing until someone tells them, "Enough!"

They don't have the incentive to, so the Neocons of the Mid-East will continue their rampage while complaining that they are "being attacked!"

[Fozzledick]

15. That boy just ain't right.

[byeya]

16. Give Jimmy another Nobel. Keep at it President Carter!

[iandhr]

17. There is a difference between the settlements in the West Bank and whats going on now.

The west bank settlements are no doubt a violation of international law.

But the situation in Gaza is different.

Hamas has been frying rockets at Israel for a while now and no one complains. (5,000 before the last war) But when Israel fires back all of a sudden its an outrage.

A very good friend of my family lives in Tel Aviv. He had been in a shelter twice now.

Israel has a right to defend themselves.

[billh58]

21. There is a difference between

"good faith" negotiations and bullshit too. Assassinations of Palestinians, clandestine incursions into Gaza, and the blockade of mercy missions are all acts of aggression just as odious as "frying rockets."

The Palestinians have a right to defend themselves.

[iandhr]

24. Assassinations of terrorists.

[byeya]

31. Yeah right. A dead Arab, even if 7 yrs old, is automatically a terroriest.

When a whole region is systematicallly starved, it's a crime against humanity and that is what has been going on in Gaza and the West Bank.

[iandhr]

35. I am talking about the Hamas leader.

[sabrina 1]

37. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

Assassinating people without trial of course saves the assassins from having to prove anything, just wipe them out and then use the current 'cover-all' word to explain away everything, 'terrorist'. It used to 'communist'. There's always a word to excuse not abiding by the law.

Fortunately the days when people blindly believed all they were told the minute they hear those chosen words, 'terrorist' eg, are slowly going away.

If the Hamas leader was a terrorist, arrest him, charge him and convict him. This way we don't have to just take Bibi's word, a man whose own credibility is probably lower than Dick Cheney's.

[iandhr]

45. So you think the President was wrong to order capture or kill on Osama?

Say the Hamas leader is not a terrorist to my Israeli friend in Tel Aviv who twice had to go to an air raid shelter.

[sabrina 1]

46. Of course. I am for trials, transparency, evidence presented

as I was when Bush was president. Did you think those of us always supported the rule of law suddenly stopped supporting it after Bush was no longer president?

By killing Bin Laden, we learned nothing. What do you know about his guilt? Did you know that he was never wanted for 9/11 and never indicted for that crime? He WAS wanted for the Embassy Attacks. Why was he never indicted for 9/11? Because as we were told, remember? They had no evidence.

Now if the rule of law no longer means anything even to Democrats, then I guess the killing of Bin Laden or anyone else without evidence, charges or conviction is just fine. For everyone, for every country, not just for the US.

Be careful what you support for US. Once you throw out the rule of law here, you have no moral authority to demand it anywhere else.

[Douglas Carpenter]

18. knr . Thank you President Carter

[AzDar]

19. K & R

[Stewland]

20. Zionist Aims are not Democratic

Thank you,Jimmy Carter Someone must speak for the downtrodden and oppressed Palestinians. ZIONISM is akin to Fascism and does not speak for all Jews. Blessed are the Peacemakers .Few publically will call out the colonial,racist thugs who grabbed Palestine. Before Zionism the Jews lived along their muslim brothers in mutual respect and peace. Shame be upon all politicians who.work against human and spiritual values, which i refer to as Zionism.

[Harry_Scrote]

30. I second you

Rabbi Richman (I believe) said pretty much the same thing when at a gathering of fellow Orthodox Jews demonstrating against the Israeli Zionists. He spoke with such conviction, despite several Israelis who lashed out at him and called him a Nazi for calling out the sins of the Likud regime...

[byeya]

32. Good post - Thanks!

[teewrex]

23. Wasn't there a time when no one wanted an Israeli state? You would think of all people

the Israelis would understand the plight of the Palestinians. Such blatant hypocrisy.

[grandpamike1]

26. Exactly

my thoughts as well, and I am a Jew.

[grandpamike1]

25. Israel

seems to forget that prior to 1947 when the state of Israel was formed by UN mandate, no one in the world wanted anything to do with the Jews getting a land of their own, even when the British were blockading ships filled with emigrating Jews that wanted to immigrate to Israel, a state that was carved from a partition of Palestine.

Of course it was all well and good for that to happen, but now, they don't see a similar human mandate to allow Palestinians to have a state of their own ?

The question is why ? And, why isn't the UN and the whole world letting Israel get away with this ?

[malaise]

34. Think US and British policy

It could not continue without them.

[Ichingcarpenter]

27. Map of loss of land.

[malaise]

28. Frightening indeed

Now that is theft

[Lucinda]

29. KNR

[spanone]

33. k&r... President Carter knows.

[liberal_at_heart]

38. That's why they use tanks

so they can level Palestinian neighborhoods and build Isreali settlements. If they want to appear legitimate in their fight against the people who are firing rockets they should use small specialized troops like the team we used to get Bin Laden, not use bombs and tanks.

[cali]

39. In Gaza? Can we at least be accurate?

[liberal_at_heart]

40. they are readying tanks along with tens of thousands of troops

[cali]

41. Look, I'm as against this invasion of Gaza as I was the last but

they aren't doing it to raze neighborhoods and build settlements- and anyone with the slightest knowledge of I/P knows this.

[liberal_at_heart]

42. Well there is a lot on both sides disagree about

we will just have to disagree on this point also. They are readying tanks. When they use tanks they level entire neighborhoods. When they level entire neighborhoods they build. That is the history of what Isreal has done. They are in violation of the UN map boundaries. They have been told to quit building new settlements and they refuse. They even come right out and say that stopping the building of settlements won't be part of any peace agreement.

[cali]

43. You really aren't terribly well informed about I/P, are you?

Yes, Israel is stealing land from the Palestinians- in the West Bank and their actions in Gaza are even worse, but there it is NOT about appropriating land. Please consider learning something about the matter.