Palestinians' despair grows as Obama not to ask Israel to halt settlement

 　　RAMALLAH, March 17 (Xinhua) -- One Palestinian official said Sunday that they are more despaired after U.S. President Barack Obama said that he would not present a new Mideast peace initiative or request Israel to halt settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.

　　Wassel Abu Yousef, an official in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Xinhua on Sunday that "everyone should notice that the vows¹ and stances of President Obama concerning Israeli settlement, which is the most pressing issue concerning the future of the conflict, had gone in vain."

　　In an interview aired on the Israeli Chanel II Television, Obama ruled out that he would ask Israel to freeze settlement construction in the Israeli settlement, adding "We had overcome the situation of preconditions." He also ruled out presenting a new initiative to push forward the stalled peace talks.

　　However, Obama, who will arrive in Israel on Wednesday and will hold separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, said that Israel needed to ask herself if its settlements in the West Bank made it difficult or easy for the Palestinian moderates to get back to the negotiations² table.

　　"It is obvious that the U.S. is not serious or interested to pressure on Israel to halt settlement. It also puts other regional issues on the top of its priority, at the expense of the Palestinian cause, something that obliged us not to count too much on this visit," said Abu Yousef.

　　The PLO official stressed that the Palestinian position concerning the resumption of the peace talks "is clear and firm," adding "We refuse to resume any peace negotiations with Israel before Israel halts settlement, in which the international community admitted that it is illegal."

　　Meanwhile, Abdul Hadi Hantash, the Palestinian expert in settlement affairs in the West Bank, told Xinhua that "When Obama' s limousine³ drives through the road that links between Jerusalem and Ramallah; he should open his eyes and look from the window and see how settlement had significantly grew."

　　"Israeli settlement occupied around 65 percent of the West Bank territory and turns its towns and cities into small isolated⁴ cantons without any geographical⁵ connection. Israeli settlement completely undermines the principle of the two-state solution that the United States is adopting," said Hantash.

　　Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and around east Jerusalem was the main reason for halting the peace negotiations in October 2010. The Palestinian side halted the talks in protest of the expansion of settlement, just four weeks after Washington sponsored it.

　　The Palestinians said that the ongoing⁶ settlement activities on their lands are the main reason for the stalemate in the Middle East peace process. When Obama arrived in Ramallah on Thursday to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas, he would clearly notice and see how bigger Israeli settlement became.

　　On the adjacent Israeli settlements to the city, which can be clearly seen from the office of President Abbas, is Beit Aeil. Several weeks ago, Israeli government decided⁷ to expand it with 90 more housing units, which outraged⁸ the Palestinian leaders.

　　Beit Aeil is one of 144 Israeli settlements built in the West Bank and around east Jerusalem, the part of the city that was occupied by Israel since 1967. More than half a million settlers live there.

　　In 2009, when Obama visited Egypt and addressed his historic speech to the Muslims and Arabs from Cairo University, he called for a new start, and he reiterated⁹ that his country doesn't recognize the legitimacy¹⁰ of settlement and that it's time to completely halt settlement, a request rejected by Israel.

　　In response to the expansion of the settlement and the freeze of the peace process, the Palestinian leadership threatened of going for other diplomatic and popular actions, such as upgrading the Palestinian representation in the United Nations and intensifies¹¹ the peaceful popular resistance against Israel.

　　An official Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity¹², told Xinhua that the Palestinian leadership expects that Obama would exert pressure on the Palestinians not to join various UN organizations, mainly the legal ones in The Hague, in order to block any attempt to sue Israel.

　　Ahmed Rafqi Awad, the political science professor at Beir Zeit University in the West Bank, told Xinhua that the U.S. negligence¹³ of expanding Israeli settlement is a clear message to the Palestinians that they must live with Israeli settlements.

　　"Obama visits here and closes his eye before the increasing settlement in the West Bank. He doesn't want to seriously discuss it with Israel as if he wants to tell the Palestinians, 'You should accept the occupation of your lands and forget about all your legitimate¹⁴ rights,'" said Awad.

1 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

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 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。

8 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

9 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

13 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

14 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。