2006年VOA标准英语-Olmert Says Palestinians Can Achieve State Thro

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
27 November 2006

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday he is willing to dismantle¹ settlements and release Palestinian prisoners to achieve a lasting² peace with Palestinians. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem that a day earlier, Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and most Palestinian militants⁴ agreed to stop firing rockets at towns in southern Israel, although there have been sporadic⁵ violations⁶.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (File)

Speaking at a memorial service for Israel's founder⁷, David Ben-Gurion, Ehud Olmert said, if Palestinians release an Israeli soldier they are holding, and form a unity⁸ government, he will meet immediately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss a wide range of issues that could lead to the formation of a Palestinian state.

Mr. Olmert says, Israel is prepared to release long-serving Palestinian prisoners, dismantle West Bank settlements and redraw Israel's border with the Palestinians, so that a Palestinian state, with territorial⁹ continuity, can be established. He says, if initial steps are taken by Palestinians to ease violence, Israel will ease roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank.

On Saturday, Palestinians and Israelis agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which Israel reentered in late June, after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier

Saeb Erekat is the senior Palestinian negotiator in talks with Israeli officials. He says the ceasefire should now be extended to the West Bank, and serve as a basis for broader talks that should lead to a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.

"The main thing here is that, what we achieved with the tahadiya [the truce] in Gaza must spread to the West Bank in the next two or three days, and then, this will open the political horizons," he said. "We hope that the Israeli side will abandon unilateralism, and opt¹⁰ for bilateralism, and we are ready to negotiate with them immediately on the end game and on the permanent status talks."

Mr. Olmert's remarks on Monday are just the latest development in a flurry of activity over the past week that has involved so far unsuccessful talks by the Palestinian factions¹¹ Hamas and Fatah to form a unity government, discussions between senior Egyptian officials and Hamas leaders on a prisoner exchange with Israel, and the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to enact¹² a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

However, Hamas leaders, who control the Palestinian government, said Monday Mr. Olmert's remarks did not go far enough, and, while, for the first time in months, there were no clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops carried out raids in the West Bank, where a Palestinian militant³ along with a civilian¹³ woman were killed.

1 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

2 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 militants   

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。

5 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

10 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

11 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

12 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。