(AP) UNITED NATIONS – Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria last month. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters. The ambassador’s harsh words for Carter came days after the ex-president met with Mashaal for seven hours in Damascus to negotiate a cease-fire with Gaza’s Hamas rulers. Carter then called Mashaal to try to get him to agree to a one-month truce without conditions, but the Hamas leader rejected the idea. The ambassador called the encounter "a very sad episode in American history." He said it was "a shame" to see Carter, who had done "good things" as a former president, "turn into what I believe to be a bigot."