Annan, Carter to Launch Mideast Peace Mission

A Turkish girl holds a doll smeared with red paint indicating blood during a protest in Istanbul on Friday against Israeli operations in Gaza. (EPA)

JOHANNESBURG/ JERUSALEM, 8 March 2008 — The council of world leaders launched by former President Nelson Mandela is sending a three-person team to the troubled Middle East.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and former Irish President Mary Robinson, will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia next month to “help people understand the urgency of peace,” the organization known as The Elders said in a statement yesterday.

Launched last year to celebrate Mandela’s 89th birthday, the group of 12 world leaders is dedicated to fostering peace and resolving global crises.

Israel on Alert

Israeli security forces were put on high alert yesterday, following the shooting attack on Thursday night that left eight Israelis dead in a religious school in West Jerusalem. More