More Jimmy Carter stuff follows ...Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai asked former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to tell Hamas leaders, including Khaled Meshal, that he would like to meet in order to expedite a prisoner exchange that would bring home kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Yishai relayed his message to Carter during a meeting on Monday. The meeting was held at the request of the former president, who wanted to meet with Israeli political leaders from across the political spectrum. The meeting was arranged through the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Yishai's bureau said he did not ask Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for permission to hold the meeting, nor did he tell Olmert what he discussed. Yishai said other Israeli officials erred in boycotting Carter. During the meeting, he told Carter that he opposed the former president's use of the term "apartheid" in his book about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Yishai said Carter told him that the interpretation of his use of the word was fundamentally wrong.
Yishai told Haaretz that in order to redeem prisoners, he was prepared to meet with anyone who could help move things ahead, including Hamas leaders. He said this did not contradict Israeli government policy, since he did not intend to discuss diplomatic issues or a cease-fire.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/976137.html