Carter: Obama must make good on Nobel Prize and back Palestinian statehood [View All]

[Jefferson23]

Carter says Arab Spring has created opportunities for resolving conflicts in Middle East, comparing it to political reality in which he, as president, helped broker peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

U.S. President Barack Obama needs to make good on the promises that won him the Nobel Peace Prize, fellow laureate and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said on Thursday. Carter called on the current American president to back the Palestinian’s bid to the UN for statehood and seize the opportunity provided by the Arab Spring to facilitate Palestinian-Israeli peace.

The shaking up of authoritarian rule in the Arab world has created opportunities for resolving conflicts in the Middle East, Carter said, comparing the Arab Spring to the political reality in which he, as president, helped broker the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

Carter reiterated his support for the Palestinians’ push for recognition of statehood in the United Nations, saying he hoped they would secure backing in the UN General Assembly to at least enhance their status in the body. However, he said the U.S. veto in the Security Council would block full membership.

"The United States will veto any move in the Security Council if they get the votes there, which I think is a mistake. But that's the privilege of the president to decide," he said during a brief visit to Oslo to meet Norwegian diplomats.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/carter-obama-must-make-good-on-nobel-prize-and-back-palestinian-statehood-1.388602