Exhibit A of Pres. Jimmy Carter's Inanities

If you wanted yet another reason why I consider former President Jimmy Carter such a vile and repugnant individual whose fecklessness and inane ideas of negotiating with terrorists accomplished nothing except to give terrorists sound bites that they'll use for years to come, this is it.

Carter somehow managed to achieve his typical results when meddling in foreign affair, only he did it in record time, courtesy of Hamas.

Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that Hamas — the Islamic militant group that has called for the destruction of Israel — is prepared to accept the right of the Jewish state to "live as a neighbor next door in peace."

Carter relayed the message in a speech in Jerusalem after meeting last week with top Hamas leaders in Syria. It capped a nine-day visit to the Mideast aimed at breaking the deadlock between Israel and Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leaders "said that they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders" and they would "accept the right of Israel to live as a neighbor next door in peace," Carter said.

The borders he referred to were the frontiers that existed before Israel captured large swaths of Arab lands in the 1967 Mideast war — including the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.

In the past, Hamas officials have said they would establish a "peace in stages" if Israel were to withdraw to the borders it held before 1967. But it has been evasive about how it sees the final borders of a Palestinian state and has not abandoned its official call for Israel's destruction.

(snip)

Carter said Hamas promised it wouldn't undermine Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum. In such a scenario, he said Hamas would not oppose a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

Well, it took all of a few hours for Hamas to pull the rug out on the whole idea of a referendum.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri in Gaza said Hamas' readiness to put a peace deal to a referendum "does not mean that Hamas is going to accept the result of the referendum."

Such a referendum, he said, would have to be voted on by Palestinians living all over the world. They number about 9.3 million, including some 4 million living in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

So, even if you assume that you could get not just all those Palestinians in Israel, the territories, and all over the world to vote in a referendum, Hamas still wouldn't abide by it.

Hamas has no interest in carrying out the terms of whatever has been agreed. In fact, they've rejected any ceasefire at all.

Meanwhile, for all of the supposed talk about trying to free Gilad Shalit and call a ceasefire to the incessant rocket attacks against Israel (still more landed today in Ashkelon and Sderot), Carter failed on that front as well. There's been no progress and the terms for any handover remain what they've been from the outset - perhaps handing over Shalit only after Israel releases hundreds of Palestinian terrorists.

Israel knew better than to meet with Carter during his trip because they've seen first hand how counterproductive it is to deal with Hamas. Then again, they're still dealing with Fatah despite that terrorist group showing that Fatah has no interest in fulfilling their obligations in various agreements up to and including Oslo.

Carter continues to believe that Israel is the stumbling block in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, ignoring the reality that Hamas has no interest in peace with Israel - they want Israel destroyed. It's a core religious and ideological tenet. Fatah, who supposedly is the more moderate terrorist group, is also dedicated to Israel's destruction, but are more willing to take the long term approach to destroying Israel. They'll use diplomacy and people like Carter to advance their agenda.

Carter's statements will be incorporated into Palestinian propaganda for years to come, as he's fully a Palestinian apologist and intent on undermining Israel's rights to defend itself from incessant terrorist attacks.

All Carter has done on this trip is confirm that he's a useful idiot for terrorists and their terror masters. He's willingly and openly pushing an agenda of undermining Israel's sovereignty at the expense of terrorist groups who seek nothing less than Israel's destruction and makes incessant statements attacking Israel's rights to defend itself from ongoing and persistent attacks. Those meetings may well have increased Hamas' standing among Palestinians despite the destructive nature of Hamas' rule in Gaza - engaging in war against Israel despite the heavy toll on Gazan infrastructure due to ignoring all basic services in order to wage a terror war.

UPDATE:
Meshaal speaks and it is the complete opposite of what Carter said:

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Monday, his group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war but still would not recognise the Jewish state.

So how exactly can there be peace and this is already no different than the situation as it exists today. Hamas remains at war with Israel, and seeks its destruction. They're attacking Israel on a daily basis and will not rest until all of Israel is destroyed.

Carter is clearly hearing things - delusional even - if he thinks that Hamas wants peace with Israel.

UPDATE:
Via Opinionated at LGF, Hamas vows still larger and more destructive attacks against Israel's border than the five attempts in the past week, including one that resulted in 13 Israeli soldiers being seriously injured in a bomb blast and mortar and gunfire.