JERUSALEM, Jan. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Former US President Jimmy Carter said Friday during a meeting with Israeli President  Moshe Katsav that the prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians are the same as in 1996, Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.

 ;  Nobel Peace Prize winner Carter, 80, who heads the team of observers monitoring the Jan. 9 Palestinian election, said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's commitment to withdrawal from Gaza and some settlements in the West Bank is a major step in the right direction.

   Carter voiced the hope that the Palestinians will establish a government committed to the peace process this year.

   He perceived an open, fair and peaceful election process and a demonstration of the ability to act responsibly and conduct trustworthy negotiations with Israel in the future.

   Carter was the person who helped hammer out the 1978 Camp David Accord that led to the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state in 1979.  Enditem