WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jimmy Carter published a new book on how to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace.
"We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work," by the former president responsible for brokering the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace accords, was published this month by Simon and Schuster.
According to reviews, the book is less confrontational than his 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," and instead outlines how the sides might bring about a two-state solution more or less along the lines of the June 4, 1967 borders. The earlier book earned opprobrium from Jewish groups for likening Israel’s settlement practices to apartheid and for alleging that backers of Israel silenced criticism of the Jewish state in the United States.
In his new book, Carter advocates involving Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, although he is sharply critical of its tactics. He also recounts handing the group’s leaders material on nonviolent resistance in a meeting last year.
Carter had delayed publishing the book in part because he did not want it to get in the way of the recent presidential campaign. He backed fellow Democrat Barack Obama, who won.
