Shimon Peres told Jimmy Carter that he has damaged Israel and the peace process.
The Israeli president met Carter shortly after the former U.S. president landed in Israel Sunday as part of a Middle East tour.
Carter has been sharply critical of Israel on its Middle East stance, notably in his recent book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”
During the meeting, Peres also criticized Carter’s decision to meet later in the week with the exiled leader of Hamas.
Carter earlier had defended his controversial decision to meet Khaled Meshaal while in Syria.
“It’s very important that at least someone meet with the Hamas leaders to express their views, to ascertain what flexibility they have, to try to induce them to stop all attacks against innocent civilians in Israel and to cooperate with the Fatah as a group that unites the Palestinians,” Carter said in an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on ABC aired Sunday morning.
Carter also met with Noam Shalit, the father of captured soldier Gilad Shalit.
He was also scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Shas Party chairman Eli Yishai and Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni both declined to meet Carter, citing “scheduling conflicts.” Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyau also canceled his meeting. Leaders in Washington and Jerusalem reacted with outrage this week to reports that Carter planned to meet with Meshaal, who lives in Damascus. A State Department spokesperson said senior officials had counseled Carter not to proceed with the meeting.
Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman said in a statement, “Carter does it again. His decision to meet with the head of the terrorist group Hamas is one more example of the destructive role the former president is playing with regard to issues affecting Israel and American interests in the Middle East.
“At a time when the anti-terrorist coalition of nations is struggling to maintain pressure on Hamas, Mr. Carter’s action can only serve to undermine that effort. Once again, Mr. Carter seems more comfortable with extremists and terrorists than with democratic friends like Israel.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
