Nobel winner Carter urges Israel to withdraw from territories

"At Camp David in 1978 and in Oslo in 1993, Israelis, Egyptians, and Palestinians have endorsed the only reasonable prescription for peace: United Nations Resolution 242," he said.

"It condemns the acquisition of territory by force, calls for withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories, and provides for Israelis to live securely and in harmony with their neighbors. There is no other mandate whose implementation could more profoundly improve international relationships."

Saying that war is always evil, Carter, calling himself a "citizen of a troubled world", also made veiled criticisms of U.S. President George W. Bush for opposing UN-led schemes to protect the environment or to create an international criminal court, and urged the world to accept UN leadership in tackling challenges from the Middle East to global poverty.

"Global challenges must be met with an emphasis on peace, in harmony with others, with strong alliances and international consensus," Carter told a ceremony in Oslo City Hall after collecting a Nobel gold medal and diploma to a standing ovation.

"Imperfect as it may be, there is no doubt that this can best be done through the United Nations," said the 78-year-old Democrat, who was U.S. president from 1977-81.

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil," Carter told an audience of about 1,000 people including his wife Rosalynn and Norway's King Harald and Queen Sonja.

"But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children," he said.

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