WORLD : Israel Warns Carter Against Aligning With Arabs on Visit

Israel, under U.S. pressure to convene peace talks with Palestinians, warned former President Jimmy Carter today not to side with the Arabs on his Middle East trip next week.

Carter forged the historic 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, and Israeli newspapers say he would now like to mediate the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The former President will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders when he visits four Middle Eastern countries and the Israeli-occupied territories.

But the daily Haaretz said Israeli security officials are worried that Carter would take the side of Palestinians waging a 27-month-old revolt in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.