Meanwhile, former president Jimmy Carter is planning on meeting
Hamas’s exiled political leader, Khaled Meshal, in Syria next week.
Last week, Meshal reiterated his previous statement that Hamas would
accept a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with Israel. Carter’s
plans immediately came under criticism from all three leading
presidential candidates. Senator John McCain called on Senator Barack
Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton to condemn the meeting. In
statements, both Clinton and Obama said they disagree with Carter’s
plans. The meeting comes as Israeli public support is growing for talks
with Hamas. A poll in February found that 64 percent of Israelis
support Hamas’s call for a ceasefire.