Against the advice of both U.S. and Israeli officials, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter met with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal last Friday in Damascus, Syria. Carter and Meshaal were expected to talk about the release of an Israeli soldier who has been held since 2006 as well as discuss ways to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Meshaal has been labeled a terrorist by the U.S. government and is accused of involvement in hundreds of suicide bombings and kidnappings. Hamas has also added a layer of complexity to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks by saying it will never recognize the existence of Israel. Both the U.S. and the Israelis have said that they will not negotiate with the group, holding talks only the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas.
Carter, who brokered the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, has defended what he calls his personal peace mission, saying Hamas must be engaged in order to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace
So how should the international community engage with Hamas, if at all? Should President Carter have met with the group? How should Israeli-Palestinian talks move forward, in light of Hamas' involvement?
Two guests answered your questions:
- Robert Satloff is the director of the Washing Institute for Near East Policy. He is an expert on Arab and Islamic politics as well as U.S. Middle East policy. He has spoken widely on the Islamist challenge to the growth of democracy in the region.
- Mark Perry is an author and a journalist who is now the co-director of the Conflicts Forum, an Anglo-American organization promoting engagement between the West and political Islam.
