Former US President Jimmy Carter said Friday during a meeting with Israeli
President Moshe Katsav that the prospects for peace between Israel and the
Palestinians are the same as in 1996, Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Carter, 80, who heads the team of observers
monitoring the Jan. 9 Palestinian election, said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's commitment to withdrawal from Gaza and some settlements in the West
Bank is a major step in the right direction.
Carter voiced the hope that the Palestinians will establish a government
committed to the peace process this year.
He perceived an open, fair and peaceful election process and a demonstration
of the ability to act responsibly and conduct trustworthy negotiations with
Israel in the future.
Carter was the person who helped hammer out the 1978 Camp David Accord that
led to the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state in 1979.
