Niall

Keepin the faith.

[Michael Tracey @mtracey]

Jimmy Carter in the 2000s and 2010s was just about the only prominent American who was engaged in semi-official negotiations with both Hamas and Israel. Carter was uniquely positioned to do this given the stature of the post-presidency, and his solid reputation among both Arab and Israeli leaders.

In this January 2009 clip, which I really recommend watching in full, Carter explains how Hamas committed personally to him to recognize Israel -- provided that Gaza and the West Bank could be joined under a unity government via popular election, an objective which Israel repeatedly sought to undermine.

Carter also personally mediated ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel in June 2008. Hamas adhered to the terms, says Carter, and effectively ceased allowing rudimentary rocket fire into Southern Israel -- while Israel violated the terms by refusing to allow the promised amount of food, fuel, and medicine into Gaza. Israel then attacked Gaza in November 2008, in the first major Gaza war, and Carter once again secured Hamas' commitment to a ceasefire. But once again, Israel refused, by refusing to allow sufficient transit of supplies into the besieged territory.

As we now know, Netanyahu's goal was to prevent a Palestinian unity government at all costs, including by cynically empowering Hamas.

Whatever his other faults, Carter should be commended for using his unique stature to engage in these direct negotiations, which the official US government under Bush and Obama refused to do. He could've gone around giving lucrative speeches or sitting on Corporate Boards, but chose to undertake this difficult diplomatic work instead. For his efforts, Carter was viciously attacked by the Israel Lobby as an anti-Semite

[BBC The View @bbctheview]

⁦
Is there a good IRA and a bad IRA? @MarkCarruthers7
asks Tánaiste & Fianna Fáil leader ⁦@MichealMartinTD

#bbctheview

[Martin Dwan @MartinDwan]

#OnThisDay in 1963 Shay Elliott became the first Irishman to wear the Maillot Jaune of race leader in the #TourdeFrance. He went on to wear it for three further days. The video clip puts his achievements into context. Shay is one of our greatest, but lesser known athletes.

[Vincent Browne @vincentbrowne]

A modest proposal: that in every class of Catholic secondary in Northern Ireland, significant prizes are given for writing the best case for unionism; and in Protestant schools ditto on the best case for nationalism.

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@DeusExCinema Sorry to hear David

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@LeTour Sam Abu.

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@obrien_jonathan A proper wiki entry.

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@scullion262 Keep the faith Stephen.

[Nick Robinson @bbcnickrobinson]

This is not a real news conference. The Chief Medical Officer & Chief Scientific Officer have either been gagged &/or have told No 10 that they will not publicly back the PM’s defence of Dominic Cummings. Follow up questions have been stopped.

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@padraig_reilly You’re a class A fucking idiot.

[Robert Peston @Peston]

It is completely clear from video footage that @MattHancock's adviser was not whacked by a protestor, as I was told by senior Tories, but that he inadvertently walked into a protestor's hand. I apologise for getting this wrong.

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@seaningle @SecondCaptains @PaulKimmage Any chance of getting Sean on next week to talk about this? Huge story getting very little coverage.

[Sean Ingle @seaningle]

Potentially explosive from Mary O'Rourke, Dr Freeman's QC: "We are in contact with Damian Collins, because we are given to receive he received a quantity of information that did not get published [in DCMS report] in relation to Mr Sutton. We want to check that information out."

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@BJBotha @SimonZebo Bit

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@FranchiLiza @VickyParkLondon Liza Moanelli.

[Kaya Burgess @kayaburgess]

I think the perfect metaphor for divided Britain is the Green Party and Brexit Party MEPs in the South East both having the same name...

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@pedropanyo @benschiffer

[Jewish Telegraph | e-edition.jewishtelegraph.com @JewishTelegraph]

BREAKING: @TheUriGeller has today written a letter, handed exclusively to the Jewish Telegraph, to @theresa_may to state that he will "not allow you to lead Britain into #Brexit".

[FourFourTwo @FourFourTwo]

Can't Stop. Watching.

https://t.co/8r5mgEsoAw

[Niall @Nialltoshea]

@Urban_Pictures @Newsflare @mikeoleary Post Brexit Cheese Rolling.... Book in 2020?