DAMASCUS, Syria — Defying U.S. and Israeli warnings, former President Carter met again Saturday with the exiled leader of the militant Hamas group and his deputy.
The two Palestinians are considered terrorists by the U.S. government, and Israel accuses them of masterminding attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians. Both governments have criticized Carter’s overtures to the militant group.
Carter met Khaled Mashaal and his deputy, Moussa Abu Marzouk, for about an hour Saturday morning, after more than four hours of talks the night before. Carter, on what he has called a personal peace mission, is the most prominent American to hold talks with Mashaal.
On Saturday, Marzouk said Carter and Mashaal discussed a possible prisoner exchange with Israel, as well as how to lift a siege imposed by the Jewish state on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Carter is trying to secure the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. But underscoring the impression that Carter did not win any concessions, Hamas said Friday that Shalit would “not see the light” until Palestinian prisoners are also released in an exchange.
