Peace Programs

President Carter has been committed to peace in the Middle East since his White House administration. In the following decades, President Carter and The Carter Center have worked to support a viable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to promote comprehensive peace in the region and justice in the Palestinian territories. The Center's activities aim to bring about sustainable peace between Israel, its neighbors and other regional actors, including fostering inclusive democratic societies, and advancing human rights, accountability, and rule of law.

In the Middle East, the primary focus of The Carter Center is the resolution of a series of five interlocking conflicts.  These include the Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Lebanese conflicts, as well as the conflicts within Lebanon and within the Palestinian territories.

The Carter Center's Current Activities

The Carter Center works both at the grassroots and with high level decision makers in its efforts to further Middle East conflict resolution.  In 2005, The Carter Center opened field offices in Ramallah and expanded in 2008 to Jerusalem and Gaza to monitor the political situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories, focusing on conflict mitigation, human rights, and electoral developments.   Building on this field presence and the continuous conflict monitoring conducted by Carter Center staff and interns in the Atlanta headquarters, senior Carter Center staff make regular trips to the Middle East to assess developments first hand.  These visits include meetings with government officials, members of key political parties, UN and NGO leaders, and independent analysts.  In particular, Center staff maintains regular contact with leaders in Fatah and Hamas.  The Carter Center also works with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, human rights organizations and think-tanks.

This thorough monitoring allows The Carter Center to be alert to various possible avenues of intervention.  In some cases this can include President Carter's personal intervention to push the parties towards a resolution.  For example, in April 2008 President Carter narrowed the distance between Hamas and Israel on the truce in and around Gaza, convincing Hamas to drop its requirement that a truce in Gaza be tied to a truce in the West Bank, thus making the June 2008 ceasefire possible.

Read key reports from President Carter's 2008-2009 Middle East trips:

• Spring 2008 Middle East trip report for additional outcomes from his visit >President Carter Q& A on Middle East, Sept. 30, 2008 >
  
• Paris, Lebanon, and Syria Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter: Dec. 5-16, 2008 >
  
• Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to Lebanon, Syria, Israel, West Bank, and Gaza - June 2-17, 2009 >
  
• June 16, 2009:  Speech to the United Nations Relief Works Agency's Human Rights Graduation in Gaza >
  
• June 15, 2009:  Transcript of President Jimmy Carter's Meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Israeli Knesset >

In other cases, this can include acting as a facilitator, to help parties communicate—even when they are not doing so officially.  For example, after extensive discussions with the Hamas leadership in Damascus in December of 2008, Carter Center staff attempted to clarify for Israeli leaders what Hamas saw as the requirements for renewing their 2008 ceasefire with Israel. Read more about the outcomes of President Carter's December 2008 trip >


In addition to these high-level interventions, The Carter Center also works with communities to prevent and mitigate conflict at the grassroots level.  The Carter Center is partnering with the United Nations Development Program to establish a student parliament, bringing together university students from throughout the Gaza Strip.  University students in Gaza tend to be highly politicized, aligning with the same factions that dominate Palestinian politics at the national level and as such, students are also wracked by the same conflicts that divide the Palestinian people.  These disputes have sometimes led to violent clashes between students.  The Student Parliament will provide a forum for students to have the experience of working constructively together to address issues of common concern, while also providing a platform for dispute resolution.  This is especially important, since the universities are often incubators for the next generation of Palestinian political leaders.

President Carter and The Carter Center observed three Palestinian elections, in 1996, 2005, and 2006.  Independent observation of the 1996 elections for president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and for the PNA Legislative Council helped ensure the legitimacy of the PNA leadership. Observation in the 2005 PNA Presidential elections ensured a smooth transition of power within the PNA, following the death of long-time PLO leader, Yassir Arafat.

Read more about the Carter Center's Democracy Program >

Read Preliminary Statement of the NDI/Carter Center International Observer Delegation to the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, Jan. 26, 2006 >

The Center also issues periodic reports to draw international attention to critical issues in the region, including threats to a viable two-state solution and the need for an inclusive approach to the peace process.  In addition, The Carter Center communicates with leading human rights organizations to reinforce their efforts through its own public reports and by publicizing the work of Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and around the world.

Read more about the Carter Center's Human Rights Program >

Palestinians in Gaza Ask Jimmy Carter: Former U.S. President Answers Videotaped Questions, May 2, 2008 >

Key Current Issues

The Gaza Strip and Palestinian Unity

Hamas won a majority of Parliamentary seats in the 2006 Palestinian Authority Legislative Council election in a poll that The Carter Center reported as one of the most democratic it has observed.

Read Preliminary Statement of the NDI/Carter Center International Observer Delegation to the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, Jan. 26, 2006 >

Subsequently, Israel and the West boycotted the Hamas-led government because of its designation as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Clashes between Palestine's two leading political forces—Fatah and Hamas—escalated until June 2007, when Hamas took military control of the Gaza Strip, routing Fatah-backed security forces.  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas immediately announced a new emergency government that excluded Hamas.  The international community responded by channeling funds and support to Fatah's emergency government in the West Bank and hardening its no-contact policy toward Hamas-controlled Gaza, while Israel instituted a draconian closure of the Gaza Strip, dramatically decreasing the flow of goods into the territory and prohibiting exports of any kind.  This was accompanied by increasing rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza, which targeted Israeli communities near the border. While intended as means to bolster the more politically moderate Fatah, this approach has only undermined the prospects for reaching a two-state solution and for strengthening democracy in Palestine. Because Hamas enjoys broad popular support among many Palestinians, any efforts to promote peace and democratic institutions will only be sustainable if Hamas is included.

For more information, read the May 2009 Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 32 from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research >

With President Carter urging Hamas to accept a ceasefire limited to Gaza, Hamas and Israel—under Egyptian auspices—agreed to a six-month ceasefire in June 2008.
Though the exact terms are disputed, the basic agreement was that Hamas would cease attacks against Israel if Israel would cease attacks against Gaza and open the borders of the Gaza Strip to normal commerce. While this led to a 97 percent reduction in attacks against Israel and Israeli attacks against Gaza, the amount of goods coming into Gaza was only 27 percent of normal levels.

Read the Carter Center's analysis of the Gaza closure and attacks in southern Israel (PDF) >

Carter Center efforts to extend this ceasefire before it was due to expire in December 2008 were unsuccessful. After a three-week period that saw a renewed rocket and mortar attack on Israel from Gaza, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27.  The three-week conflict left more than 1440 Palestinians and 14 Israelis—including 11 soldiers—dead, as well as inflicting numerous injuries and causing widespread destruction.

Read President Carter's December 2008 Middle East trip report >

Read An Unnecessary War:  Washington Post Op-Ed by Jimmy Carter >

Palestinian national unity is also critical to the success of a two-state solution to the conflict.  If the Palestinians cannot speak with one voice, it will be impossible for them to negotiate effectively with Israel.

Read the analysis from the U.S./Middle East Project:  "A Last Chance for a Two-State Israel-Palestine Agreement A Bipartisan Statement on U.S. Middle East Peacemaking" (PDF)>


More immediately, the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza is critical.  Operation Cast Lead saw:

• 1,440 Palestinians killed, including 431 children and 114 women
• 5,303 Palestinians injured, including 1,606 children and 828 women
• 3 Israeli civilians killed, 183 injured
• 11 Israeli soldiers killed, 340 wounded
• 50,000 Palestinian homes damaged including 4,000 completely destroyed and 19,000 seriously damaged

Further, the closure of Gaza is a form of collective punishment, deliberately targeting the civilian population of the territory.  Only a small number of non-food items are being allowed into the Gaza Strip. Food that is available is insufficient to meet minimum nutritional needs.  After more than two years of these policies, stunting is being seen in Palestinian children.  Most construction materials are prohibited, leaving people sitting in the ruins of their homes unable to rebuild.  Cash is also in short supply, so that even those with money in banks have difficulty withdrawing funds.  Gaza is approaching 100 percent aid dependency.

Hamas

During an April 2008 trip to the region, President Carter and his group toured Sderot, a town of about 20,000 people that suffered almost daily attacks by Qassam rockets launched from Gaza. The group also visited the hospital in Ashkelon, another town under fire from rocket attacks from Gaza, and toured the Berzilai hospital where trauma victims of the rocket attacks receive medical care.

Hamas and other organizations in the region are responsible for numerous attacks in the region against civilian as well as military targets. During meetings with Hamas officials President Carter condemned any such attacks as acts of terrorism and pressed the Hamas leaders to agree to a cease-fire.

Read Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan: April 13-22, 2008 >

The Carter Center and President Carter have also urged Hamas to resolve the matter of Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured in June 2006 and has been held captive since that time. As a result of President Carter's meetings with Hamas leaders, an exchange of letters was arranged between Corporal Shalit and his family. Corporal Shalit remains captive and the Carter Center urges his release by Hamas.

During his latest trip to the region in June 2009, President Carter continued to press for a prisoner exchange to ensure the release of Corporal Shalit, while also urging Hamas to renounce violence, accept past agreements and recognize Israel.  Read more about President Carter's June 2009 trip to the Middle East >

Settlements

The Carter Center believes that a principal obstacle to a viable two-state solution is the continued presence and expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank. A seemingly permanent infrastructure is emerging in the West Bank, characterized by a grid of settler-only roads, roadblocks, checkpoints, and the giant separation wall. Almost 40 percent of the West Bank now has been absorbed by Israeli settlements and related infrastructure while other areas are closed to Palestinians.  The West Bank is home to some 480,000 Israeli settlers living among 2.4 million Palestinians.  The settlement grid cuts off Palestinian communities from each other and has had a devastating impact on the social and economic life of Palestinians in the West Bank and on the Palestinian economy. 

For more information about the impact of these settlements see the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report >

Peace Now, an Israeli organization, recently revealed that Israel has plans to construct 73,000 new housing units in the occupied West Bank. Read more >

If construction moves forward, the population of settlers in the West Bank will increase by an estimated 300,000 people.

Read Carter Center Calls for End to Home Demolitions and Settlement Construction in the West Bank March 16, 2009 >

Read more