ISRAEL:JIMMY CARTER yesterday condemned the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel, but Israeli leaders continued to shun the former US president during his visit to the country because of his intention to meet the leaders of Hamas, which has been responsible for the firing of many of the rockets.
"I think it's a despicable crime for any deliberate effort to be made to kill innocent civilians, and my hope is there will be a cease-fire soon," Mr Carter said during his visit to the rocket-hit southern town of Sderot, which has been the main target of Gaza militants.
Both prime minister Ehud Olmert and defence minister Ehud Barak have refused to meet the former president because of his plans to meet with Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshal during his trip to Syria.
Israel's Shin Bet security service had refused to assist US agents guarding the former president, Reuters reported.
Israeli leaders are also angry with Mr Carter over his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which equates Israel's policies in Gaza and the West Bank with apartheid.
One leader who did agree to meet Mr Carter was president Shimon Peres, but Israel's elder statesman used the opportunity to berate his guest over his book and his readiness to meet with Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction.
Undeterred by the criticism and the snubs, Mr Carter said he still planned to meet with Hamas leaders and that during his talks with Mr Meshal he would try to promote efforts to bring about the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since June 2006. He said he also planned to gauge Hamas's readiness to accept a peace initiative put forward by the Arab League.
Mr Carter, who brokered the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979, has argued that peace cannot be achieved if Hamas is excluded.
On the eve of his visit, the former president said that if Israel was "ever going to find peace with justice concerning the relationship with their next-door neighbours, the Palestinians, that Hamas will have to be included in the process."