Jimmy Carter and Hamas

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080414/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_carter

The author of this article states that Jimmy Carter hopes to help negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine by serving as the spokesman for the Hamas terrorist organization. He believes that beceause Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, their cooperation is essential for peace in the region to be realized. Hamas involvement in peace talks is contrary to the wishes of the U.S. and Israeli governments because both the U.S. and Israel view Hamas as a terrorist organization that should not be negotiated with.

I had a few questions I wanted to pose to the class. Has Hamas ever been involved in any peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine? How long has Hamas been in control of the Gaza Strip, and is it likely that they will continue to hold the region. If they continue to hold the region, will their participation in peace talks become more necessary as they become more established? It seems to me that their involvement will become more important if they continue to exert influence over the Gaza strip.