2007年VOA标准英语-Rice: Olmert, Abbas Committed to Two-State Solu

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
19 February 2007

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the summit in Jerusalem between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed a commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, the summit agenda was dominated by discussions of the new power-sharing agreement between the Palestinian factions² Hamas and Fatah.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, center, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, right, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, shake hands at a meeting at a hotel in Jerusalem, 19 Feb. 2007

After two hours of talks, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to meet again, possibly within weeks.

According to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who mediated³ the meeting, both men used the talks as an opportunity to discuss the recent-power sharing agreement between Mr. Abbas' Fatah faction¹ and Hamas. The agreement is supposed to result in a unity⁴ Palestinian government within several weeks.

"It is an accomplishment⁵ that it [the talks] happened, because, in this circumstance, with a change in the circumstances, I think, it is really valuable that they sat down face-to-face," said Condoleezza Rice. "I think it was helpful that I was there. It was useful that they could talk about what had changed and what had not changed, and what commitments Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] was making on the basis of his principles. I think that was extremely important to do."

Secretary Rice, who met informally with journalists before departing Israel late Monday, says Mr. Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, used Monday's talks to reaffirm his commitment to the Roadmap peace plan, a three-stage series of negotiations⁶ and reciprocal concessions⁷ that is supposed to lead to an eventual⁸ Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel. The plan is backed by the so-called Middle East Peace Quartet - made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

Israel says it will reject the new Palestinian unity government, if it does not recognize Israel, renounce⁹ violence or fully¹⁰ accept past peace agreements. Palestinians say the new government is necessary to stop factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

Secretary Rice says the international community should work with Palestinians to ensure that any new Palestinian government does meet those three conditions.

"It is going to be, I suspect, a process of coming to terms with differences that are quite black and white, and maybe going to gray at some point," she said. "What we have to do as the international community is stay clear about what is required. I think, if we stay clear about what is required, that increases the chance that the bulk of the Palestinian leadership will end up in a place that the international community can deal with."

Aides close to Mr. Abbas say they understand any future Palestinian government must accept all previous agreements and obligations in relations with Israel. But Hamas officials criticized Monday's summit, saying the power-sharing agreement already meets international concerns, and that sanctions that were imposed on the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority for its refusal to recognize Israel need to be lifted.

1 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

2 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

3 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

4 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。

5 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

6 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。

7 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

8 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

9 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。