Palestinians differ over holding elections by September

    GAZA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian political powers had on Sunday differed over the decision of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee that was made on Saturday which called for holding parliamentary(国会的议会的) and presidential elections by September this year.
    While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party accepted the idea, Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, rejected to join. However, other left-wing factions¹ accepted the idea, in condition that all political powers accept it and lead to an end to the current split.
    The PLO executive committee, held a meeting in Ramallah on Saturday, chaired by Abbas, decided² that the presidential and legislative³ elections will be held by September this year, in a way that prepares the atmosphere for achieving an inter⁴ Palestinian reconciliation⁵ and ending the current split.
    Jamal Muheisen, a member of Fatah central committee announced that his party, which rules the West Bank, backs the PLO decision "as an alternative to the ongoing⁶ split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after Hamas escaped from signing on the reconciliation pact⁷.""The Palestinians have the right to practice their peaceful exchange of authorities by going to the polls. The situation and the political differences among the factions have been going on for a long time and Hamas movement unfortunately has been obstructing⁸ the reconciliation."Fatah leaders stressed that "We can reach so many creative solutions for the impasse⁹ that Hamas movement has put the Palestinians in, where holding the elections is one of those solutions in order to avoid continuing to be hostages in Hamas hands to keep the split going on."The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had earlier announced in January last year that it intends to hold the general elections. However, it changed its mind after Hamas movement rejected the proposal and insisted that a reconciliation agreement should be first reached before holding any elections.
    The Presidential and legislative elections were due in January 2009 and January 2010. But the PLO Central Council, a mini parliament, had decided to extend Abbas term and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) or parliament, which is dominated by Hamas.
    Meanwhile, other Palestinian left-wing factions backed the PLO decision to hold the elections by September, as a solution to get out of the current impasse of split between Fatah, which controls the West Bank and Hamas movement which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
    Jamil Majdalawi, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation（解放） of Palestine (PFLP) told Xinhua that his group backs the idea of holding the elections "as a legal right for the Palestinians to practice their democracy." However, he insisted that holding the elections must be agreed upon among all factions.
    Ramzi Rabah, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) asserted that his group "is insisting that the Palestinians should first overcome the status of split and then go to general elections that include the PLO and the Palestinian National Council (PNC).
    Walid al-Awad, a member of the People's Party, said the choice of heading to the people through holding general elections and chose their representatives through the polls "is the shortest way to put an end to the feuds¹⁰ and differences among the Palestinian factions."However, Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas leader told Xinhua that his movement "insists that there will be no elections before reaching a national agreement and ending the current split," adding that the PLO call for holding the elections "is illegal.""Hamas movement has been always supporting holding fair elections based on respecting the well-being¹¹ of the people, their rights and their national principles in a real democratic atmosphere," said al-Baedaweel, whose movement won the last legislative（立法的） elections held in January 2006.
    The less-influential Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement has also rejected the PLO call to hold the elections by September. Dawood Shihab, spokesman of the group told Xinhua that his movement " considers the call for any elections without reaching a national agreement is not acceptable and illegal."Mustafa al-Barghouti, chairman of the National Palestinian Initiative told a news conference held in Ramallah that his group backs to end the internal split between Gaza and the West Bank first and then hold the presidential and legislative elections as well as the PNC elections.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

5 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

8 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

9 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

10 feuds   

n.长期不和，世仇( feud的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Quarrels and feuds between tribes became incessant. 部落间的争吵、反目成仇的事件接连不断。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• There were feuds in the palace, no one can deny. 宫里也有斗争，这是无可否认的。 来自辞典例句

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。