Former US president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter deserves all commendation for his balanced approach to trying to find a realistic peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. We admire his guts for not bowing down to Zionist pressure like other weak American leaders. Even Israeli prime- minister Ehud Olmert’s refusal to provide him security did not bother him at all. He stood firmly by his principles. He met Hamas leaders in Gaza and also laid a wreath at Yasser Arafat’s grave, which even the Middle East Peace Envoy, Tony Blair has yet to do. Jimmy Carter, the courageous American called the Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories as a system of apartheid, in his book published in 2006.

The world community remembers how he successfully brokered the first peace treaty between Israel (Menachem Begin) and Egypt (Anwar Sadat) in 1979, which became to be known as the ‘Camp David Agreement’. It is time that Israel realized that there won’t be real peace without the inclusion of Hamas and Syria in the negotiations. The straight talking Jimmy Carter believes in this truth. We wish him success in his balanced approach and sincere efforts.