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VOA常速英语2007年-Mideast Peace Process Back on Track in 2007

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(单词翻译)

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
17 December 2007

After seven years, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are talking once again. That development came at the end of 2007, a year of turmoil1 and transition which saw the Palestinian territories split, politically, and a renewed American-sponsored push to revive the Middle East peace process. VOA's Jim Teeple has more from our Jerusalem Bureau.

Palestinians are accustomed to violence. However, the violence that erupted in the Gaza Strip in June was unprecedented2. In just a few days, Hamas militants3 completely overwhelmed Fatah gunmen loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, effectively splitting the Palestinian territories in two, with Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip and Fatah running the West Bank.

Hamas and Fatah had been feuding4 violently since Hamas won legislative5 elections in early 2006. However, seeing an opportunity in the disaster, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas moved to reassert his authority over the Palestinians. Just days after his security forces were routed by Hamas, Mr. Abbas, dismissed a Hamas-dominated Palestinian government and swore in a new cabinet made up of independents and close allies of his Fatah movement. His moves received broad support from the Arab League, the European Union, the United States and even Israel, which signaled its willingness to re-engage with the Palestinians in peace negotiations7.

Seeing an opportunity to bring both sides back to the negotiating table after a seven-year absence, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began an intensive round of shuttle diplomacy8, telling audiences extremism was gaining in the Middle East, making a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians imperative9.

"If the Palestinians are losing hope, especially among the young, we have a great danger before us," she said. "The prolonged experience of deprivation10 and humiliation11 can radicalize even normal people. My fear is that, if Palestinian reformers cannot deliver on the hope of an independent state, then the moderate center could collapse12 forever. The next generation of Palestinians could collapse forever. The next generation of Palestinians could become lost souls of unbridled extremism."

In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could do little but watch, as Hamas and Fatah battled each other in Gaza. Beset13 by political scandal, a public angry with his performance during the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon War and a fractious coalition14 government, Mr. Olmert seemed an unlikely partner for any peace initiative. However when former Prime Minister Ehud Barak joined his cabinet as head of the Labor15 Party, Mr. Olmert was assured of at least short-term political stability. With Mahmoud Abbas freed from his Hamas-dominated Palestinian government, Mr. Olmert agreed with Condoleezza Rice that conditions were right for a revival16 of the peace process.

Israeli policy analyst17 Gidi Grinstein, who heads the Reut Institute, says peace efforts can sometimes get a boost in Israel, when Israeli leaders are politically weak.

"Every Israeli prime minister has one major move to make with the Palestinians. The moment he or she begins to embark18 on that process their coalition breaks down and they basically lose power," said Grinstein. "So, prime ministers in Israel have to choose between political stability with immobility with the Palestinians, or making progress with the Palestinians and losing the political stability. This is why Israeli prime minister usually go for the political move with the Palestinians usually toward the end of their political tenure19."

After more shuttle diplomacy from Condoleezza Rice, the two sides agreed to meet in November, at the U.S. Naval20 Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was the first peace conference between the Israelis and the Palestinians in seven years. Difficulties soon emerged. Palestinians wanted detailed21 discussions about core issues, such as borders, the future of Jerusalem and the issue of refugees. Israelis said there should be broad discussions at Annapolis and that detailed core-issue talks should follow. In the end, both sides agreed to resume regular peace talks and to reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev says Israel is once again committed to the peace process.

"I believe that, with this determination by the Israeli government together with the determination of the Palestinian government, we can really move forward. There is a moment of opportunity," he said. "We cannot let that moment be wasted."

Although the Annapolis conference ended on a note of optimism, polls showed that, although Palestinians and Israelis support the peace process, neither expected much to come from the talks. Israeli officials said they wanted a firm pledge from Mr. Abbas to crack down on Palestinian militants, while Palestinian negotiators said they wanted to ease restrictions22 on Palestinian lives.

"Palestinians want to see results on the ground, basically. We have more than 500 checkpoints in the West Bank; the cantonization of the West Bank," said Ali Jarbawi, who teaches political science at Bir Zeit University, in the West Bank.  "The movement is extremely difficult for ordinary Palestinians. The trade and economic situation is worsening, so they need to see a lifting of checkpoints and the economic situation needs to improve in order for them to believe in the negotiation6 process."

The atmosphere got worse. An Israeli announcement of 300 new homes in an Arab East Jerusalem neighborhood angered Palestinians. An upsurge in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel by Palestinian militants opposed to the peace process angered the Israelis. The first formal meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators since the Annapolis conference ended in acrimony, in December, with both sides accusing each of acting23 in bad faith on a host of issues.

Despite that, the peace process continued. Donors24 meeting in Paris pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians to build up vital institutions like the Palestinian security services, so that Israeli troops will withdraw from the West Bank. And, both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators pledged to keep talking in the coming year, continuing the first peace negotiations in seven years between Israelis and Palestinians.


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1 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
2 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的,新奇的
参考例句:
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
3 militants 3fa50c1e4338320d8495907fdc5bdbaf     
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来,反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
  • Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此,巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
4 feuding eafa661dffa44863a7478178ec28b5c1     
vi.长期不和(feud的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭,全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
  • The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网
5 legislative K9hzG     
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。
6 negotiation FGWxc     
n.谈判,协商
参考例句:
  • They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判,他们的食糖生意成交了。
  • The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。
7 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
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。
8 diplomacy gu9xk     
n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕
参考例句:
  • The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
  • This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
9 imperative BcdzC     
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的
参考例句:
  • He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
  • The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。
10 deprivation e9Uy7     
n.匮乏;丧失;夺去,贫困
参考例句:
  • Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
  • Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。
11 humiliation Jd3zW     
n.羞辱
参考例句:
  • He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
  • He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。
12 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
13 beset SWYzq     
v.镶嵌;困扰,包围
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。
14 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
15 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
16 revival UWixU     
n.复兴,复苏,(精力、活力等的)重振
参考例句:
  • The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
  • He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。
17 analyst gw7zn     
n.分析家,化验员;心理分析学家
参考例句:
  • What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务?
  • The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
18 embark qZKzC     
vi.乘船,着手,从事,上飞机
参考例句:
  • He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
  • Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。
19 tenure Uqjy2     
n.终身职位;任期;(土地)保有权,保有期
参考例句:
  • He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
  • Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。
20 naval h1lyU     
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的
参考例句:
  • He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
  • The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。
21 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
22 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
23 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
24 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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