2006年VOA标准英语-Israel's Incoming PM Says Prepare for New

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
04 May 2006

Interim¹ Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert    
  
Israel's incoming prime minister, Ehud Olmert, says his country's new borders will be significantly different from its current boundaries.

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Presenting his new government to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Ehud Olmert says Israel needs to get rid of numerous isolated² settlements in the West Bank as part of his plan to redraw Israel's borders in the next four years.

Olmert says while Israel will pull back from numerous settlements in the West Bank he intends to hold onto several large settlement blocs³ that are currently home to tens of thousands of Israelis. He says he hopes to work with Palestinians through the road map peace plan to draw Israel's final borders with the Palestinians, but if that fails his government will act unilaterally.

Olmert says Israel will not wait forever and will not put off vital decisions about its future waitng for the Palestinians to act responsibly.

Mr. Olmert's Kadima Party won Israeli elections on March 28, but holds only 29 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Israel's center-left Labor⁴ Party has joined Olmert's coalition⁵, as have several smaller parties, including the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, whose leaders have voiced doubts about whether they will support the West Bank pullout plan.

In his Knesset speech, Mr. Olmert also singled out Iran, saying it has targeted Israel for annihilation.

Mr. Olmert says, however, that Israel is not helpless and has the ability to defend itself against any threat. 

Mahmoud Abbas   
  
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Israeli leaders to renew peace talks, saying he intends to ask Palestinians to vote in a referendum on any peace deal with Israel. The move is being seen as an effort to circumvent⁶ opposition⁷ to any peace deal with Israel by the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

Israeli officials say Mr. Olmert will likely meet with Mahmoud Abbas in the next few weeks, but that peace talks are not likely as long as Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, disarm⁸ or recognize pre-existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 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。

3 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

4 labor   

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。

5 coalition   

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。

6 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。