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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: January 23, 2006 |
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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in the Mideast to help monitor this week's Palestinian elections, urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to stamp out terror, and told Israel it should withdraw from more settlements in Judea and Samaria.
"(Violence) is inherently counterproductive for the well-being of the Palestinian people and obviously prevents any further progress in the peace process," Carter said at an Israeli policy conference in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya.
And he called on The Palestinian Authority "to take every possible effort, even including a direct military confrontation, to control those within the Palestinian community who advocate terrorism or violence as a weapon to be used."
In the balloting Wednesday, Abbas' ruling Fatah Party is facing a stiff challenge from Hamas militants, who are sworn to Israel's destruction. Abbas hopes to tame Hamas by bringing it into the political establishment.
Over the summer, Israel withdrew from four small settlements when it evacuated the Gaza Strip.
Carter said that was not enough.
"You can't have a Palestinian state living in peace and dignity if (Judea and Samaria is) filled with Israeli settlements," he reasoned, adding that it was "reasonable" for Israel to retain settlements near its pre-1967 border.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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