Carter: Collective punishment in Gaza is a crime

Former US President Jimmy Carter called the blockade of Gaza a crime and an atrocity on Thursday and said US attempts to undermine Hamas had been counterproductive.

Speaking at the American University in Cairo after talks with Hamas delegation, Carter said Palestinians in Gaza were being starved to death and received fewer calories a day than people in the poorest parts of Africa.

"It's an atrocity what is being perpetrated as punishment on the people in Gaza. It's a crime... I think it is an abomination that this continues to go on," Carter said.

Carter said Zionist regime and the U.S. were trying to make the quality of life in Gaza markedly worse than in the West Bank, where the rival Fatah group is in control.

Carter said Hamas must be involved in any arrangements that could lead to peace.

"One of the reasons I wanted to come and meet with the Syrians and Hamas was to set an example that might be emulated by others... I know that there are some officials in the Israeli government that are quite willing to meet with Hamas and maybe that will happen in the near future," he added, without naming who those Israeli officials may be.

Carter's talks in Cairo were with former Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar and former Interior Minister Saeed Seyam.

He said that during his visit to Israel, the first step on his regional tour, he saw rockets that had been fired by Hamas.

''At the same time, if you live in Gaza, you know that for every Israeli killed in any kind of combat, between 30 to 40 Palestinians are killed because of the extreme military capability of Israel,'' Carter said.