2006年VOA标准英语-Will Hamas Renounce Violence?

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, D.C.
01 February 2006
 
watch Hamas Future report

Casting a ballot¹ in the Palestinian parliamentary election  
  
Last week's unexpected, though convincing, Hamas victory in the Palestinian election has prompted all parties interested in Middle East peace to ask, “what is next?”  VOA's Peter Fedynsky examines some possibilities.

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The Palestinian election has highlighted conflicting international and domestic perceptions of Hamas.  The United States and European Union have long considered Hamas to be a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel.  Most Palestinians, however, voted for the party based on its record of good municipal governance.  

Rafi Dajani, American Task Force on Palestine  
  
Rafi Dajani, Executive Director of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, says Hamas understands that resuming the violence, which shaped its international image, will lead to the loss of domestic support.

"Everyone realizes in the final analysis that something has to be done.  It's just a matter of how it's done.  They realize that support for Hamas is for social services and so if their actions cause further hardship for the Palestinian people, then you'll find that the support for them will erode² very quickly."

This is the dilemma³ for the Palestinians:  they are extremely dependent on international financial assistance to meet their social and economic needs and many countries, including the United States, do not fund terrorist organizations or any group that advocates the destruction of Israel, such as Hamas.  Mindful of those needs, the so-called Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- met to discuss Palestinian needs in view of the Hamas victory. 

A Palestinian militant  
  
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said, "The quartet concluded that it was inevitable⁴ that future assistance to any new government would be reviewed by donors⁵ against that government's commitment to the principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel and the acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the roadmap."

Russian President Vladimir Putin says international assistance to the Palestinians should not be halted because of the Hamas victory.  However, the U.S. and Europe are not the only possible sources of funds for a Hamas-led government.  Arab financing might mean Hamas would not need to reach an accommodation with Israel. 

Suicide bombings sponsored by Hamas have made Israel deeply distrustful of the organization, despite the fact that its last such attack was in August 2004.  

 
Paul Scham, Middle East Institute 
  
Paul Scham, an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, says Hamas has highly sophisticated leaders who understand the need for compromise with Israel. "However, there is a collective leadership, there is a Shura Council -- a council of sages⁶ of leaders -- whose political sophistication in that sense varies.  And of course, there has to be a collective, and if possible, consensus⁷ decision.

Mr. Scham says a critical element of the Mid-East peace process will be how Palestinians and Israelis deal with their own extremists, who have blocked reconciliation⁸. 

Rafi Dajani of the American Task Force for Palestine agrees. "We have Israeli fanatics¹⁰, we have Palestinian fanatics and we have other Mid-East fanatics.  The important thing is that we don't freeze the process every time a fanatic⁹ does something violent.  Because in essence, we're giving them the veto power over the process."

Public opinion polls indicate that majorities among the Israeli and Palestinian peoples favor a two-state solution for the sake of peace. So do the United States and many members of the international community.  The world is now waiting to see if Hamas follows the will of the majority.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

3 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 donors   

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》

6 sages   

n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料）

参考例句：

• Homage was paid to the great sages buried in the city. 向安葬在此城市的圣哲们表示敬意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Confucius is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages. 孔子被认为是古代中国最伟大的圣人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 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。

9 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

10 fanatics   

狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heathen temple was torn down by a crowd of religions fanatics. 异教徒的神殿被一群宗教狂热分子拆除了。
• Placing nukes in the hands of baby-faced fanatics? 把核弹交给一些宗教狂热者手里？