Israel boycotts meeting with ex-US presidentt over his meetings with Hamas

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Israel decided not to meet former US President Jimmy Carter and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland when they visit the region over their expected meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haneyya and over their anti-Israeli views, Yediot Ahranot newspaper revealed.

Carter and Brundtlend will arrive on April 30 for a 3-day trip to Israel, the Palestinian Authority territories, and the Gaza Strip. Israel officially decided to boycott Carter's visit, although it will not prevent him from entering Israel or entering the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing, the newspaper said.

Israeli president Reuven Rivlin heeded the Foreign Ministry's advice and decided not to meet former US President Jimmy Carter and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland when they visit the region.

Carter and Brundtland are both members of the Elders, an independent group of global former leaders who work together for peace and human rights. They were brought together in 2007 by Nelson Mandela.

Carter had earlier met with head of Hamas’s political bureau Khaled Mishaal and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya.

Sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the reason they were boycotting Carter's visit was because "he consistently helps delegitimize Israel and that any meeting with an Israeli official would only contribute to this process."

Carter will arrive in the region on an emergency mission, mainly intended to mediate between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas in Gaza, according to the newspaper.

Carter has been vocally critical of Israel in recent years. He has referred to Israeli apartheid numerous times.

The newspaper said that Carter has visited Israel in the last few years, but former Israeli president Shimon Peres would generally meet him even though Carter spent the meetings criticizing the former president's views.



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