Former President Jimmy Carter is renewing criticism of the US-led boycott of the elected Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Speaking on a visit to Syria, Carter said the US and Israel should drop their refusal to deal with a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas. Carter also called for a prisoner exchange that would see the return of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza for some of the more than 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Jimmy Carter: “I don’t believe there’s any possibility to have peace between Palestinians and Israel unless Hamas is involved directly in harmony with Fatah. My hope is that we could soon see some agreement between Hamas and Israel with the release of Shalit and an equivalent release of prisoners that Israel is holding of Palestinians.”