Memories Of The Late Jimmy Carter, Mahmoud Abbas: First American President Admits Palestinian People's Rights

Jimmy Carter. (Wikimedia Commons/US National Archives)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian president remembers the figure of Jimmy Carter as the first president of the United States to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, working tirelessly for a solution in the Middle East, when expressing his condolences for the death of the former US president.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100 on Sunday, the Carter Center said.

Condolences as well as memory of Carter's footsteps in the international world were conveyed from various parts of the world, including Palestine, which is being hit by war.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a telegram of condolences to the family of the late 39th president of the United States on Monday.

"On this solemn day, we mourn the death of an extraordinary and global peacemaker, His Excellency President Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States. A man with courage, moral, humane and diplomatic integrity, President Carter is an inspiration to future generations and a beacon of hope for all who believe in the power of justice and affection," he wrote, quoted from WAFA December 31.

President Abbas stressed that the eternal legacy of the late President Carter is a steadfast commitment to human dignity and an effort to achieve peace.

"As the first American president to recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, he works tirelessly to fight for a just and lasting solution in the Middle East. He speaks bravely against injustice, including discussing the reality of Israel's apartheid, and fighting for peace rather than violence and war," said President Abbas.

"His dedication to these principles earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, a testament to his lifelong struggle for the improvement of mankind," he continued.

We join you, along with many admirers around the world, in mourning for this deep loss. On behalf of the Palestinian people and myself, I extend my deepest condolences to your family and loved ones. We pray that God Almighty will give eternal peace to his soul and comfort you with patience and comfort in this time of grief," President Abbas said on his telegram.

President Abbas concluded that President Carter's legacy will "while remain in our hearts," as a testament to his unexpected contribution to the struggle for justice and peace.

It is known, after winning the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party in 1976, Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from January 197

7 to January 1981, after defeating the incumbent Gerald Ford of the Republican Party in the general election.

His one-term presidential term was marked by the peak of the 1978 Camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt, which brought stability to the Middle East.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 in recognition of his "untiring efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflict, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

Carter's performance footprint is in Eritrea, Bosnia to Haiti. Not only that, his Carter Center in Atlanta sent a delegation of international election monitoring monitoring to polling stations around the world.