Fact and Fiction Regarding Carter's Recent Trip to the Middle East

In a recent piece entitled 'Carter's Heir: He's a Senator from Illinois', Matthew Continetti of The Weekly Standard lambasted former President Jimmy Carter's recent trip to the Middle East to hold talks with leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The article also argued that Democratic Presidential front-runner Barack Obama has maintained a contradictory diplomatic posture, saying that would not hold talks with Hamas but would sit down unconditionally with adversarial leaders in Iran, whom, Continetti argues, hold the same terroristic predisposition vis-a-vis Israel. Additionally, the author labels Hamas as an unacceptable partner in dialogue due to its refusal to accept Israel's right to exist or abide by the Oslo Accords.

What the article fails to mention, however, is that Israel, for its part, has walked a good rhetorical line on Oslo while failing completely to comply by its guidelines on the ground. Indeed, settlement activity in the West Bank, which the Oslo accord was supposed to halt completely, continues at breakneck speed, with the Israeli Knesset approving the building of over 600 new homes just outside of Jerusalem in early April just days after Condoleeza received assurances from Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that such activity would stop. Additionally, the expansion of Israel's security wall continues, reaching further and further into Palestinian Authority-controlled territory in the West Bank. Never mind that this process stands in direct conflict with United Nations Security Resolution 242, which was agreed by the United States and Israel, it also creates serious humanitarian problems for Palestinians in the West Bank, who find themselves cut off from basic resources like food and medicine.

Put that aside. The failure of Palestinians and Israelis alike to abide by the exact mandates of 242 are well-known. What is important is the future and looking to create a meaningful agreement that can alleviate the region's growing disorder. It was curious, then, for Continetti to label Carter's recent visit as 'a bust'. Not only did the former President get Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal, to agree a complete truce and cessation of attacks on Israeli communities if this move were approved in a referendum by the Palestinian electorate, he also engaged a party (Hamas) whose participation will be necessary in the creation of any future Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. For too long, skeptics have kidded themselves in believing that peace can be secured in this troubled region while keeping Hamas isolated. A legitimate political entity or not, Hamas will play a role in the Israeli-Palestinian dichotomy in the years to come.

However, policymakers have some choice as to what this role will be. Responsible leaders, like Carter, understand that tempering Hamas' brutal terrorism is by offering them a real chance to participate in peace talks. If Hamas rejects this well-intentioned offer, they will show themselves to be entirely uncommitted to peace, which would dry up support for them amongst many of its small, but stalwart supporters. Moreover, showing categorically that Hamas has no interest in peace would likely decrease its political support amongst the Palestinian electorate, whom, far more than waging continual and purposeless attacks on Israeli citizens, would support politicians that offer real solutions to their serious economic and political troubles. I witnessed this on a recent trip to the Middle East, during which citizens from across the West Bank in villages in which I stopped expressed a strong desire to have peace with Israel in return for their economic and political vitality, which has dwindled in recent years. It is critical to understand that Hamas is only powerful to the extent that Palestinians are financially and politically desolate. If Israel were truly interested in securing a long-term truce with the Palestinian Authority and winning real safety for at-risk communities like Sderot and others near the Gaza Strip, then its best play is to invest in increasing economic prospects for ordinary Palestinian citizens.

It is easy to portray all Palestinians as eager to carry out the monstrous attacks of suicide bombers and rocket launchers. Getting to the truth of the situation, however, requires thoughtful and innovative diplomacy, such as that recently employed by Jimmy Carter in his talks with Hamas. Palestinians want peace and security as much as their Israeli counterparts. Commentators like The Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti, who has probably never traveled to the West Bank to experience the troubling daily conditions in which most Palestinians live, fail to understand this and content themselves in making convenient and, ultimately, unhelpful observations from the sidelines. Israelis and Palestinians deserve much better.