2007年VOA标准英语-Israel's PM: No Compromise on Hamas, Iran and S

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
21 February 2007

Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said Wednesday he will maintain contacts with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but that achieving peace with the Palestinians will be difficult because a majority of Palestinians support Hamas. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem the Israeli leader also had tough words for Iran and Syria.

 
Ehud Olmert speaks during annual meeting with foreign journalists in Jerusalem, 21 Feb 2007
In his annual address to foreign journalists Ehud Olmert touched on a wide range of subjects, including Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.

Speaking two days after he concluded a U.S.-brokered summit meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Olmert says he is confident bilateral¹ negotiations² between Israel and Mr. Abbas will continue. However, Israel's prime minister says it is unclear what can be accomplished³ in talking to Mr. Abbas since Hamas is the majority party in the Palestinian territories.

"Now, what do you ask me to do if you speak with the body which does not represent the majority, only because the majority is against talking with me," he said. "But a body that does not represent the majority today amongst the Palestinians will not be able to actually carry out any commitment that will make any such talks valuable and meaningful. Let us not bypass the issue. The fact is that the majority of Palestinians voted for people who do not want to make peace with Israel."

 
Mahmoud Abbas
Hamas has controlled the Palestinian Authority since defeating Mr. Abbas' Fatah Party in legislative⁴ elections last year. A power-sharing agreement between the two factions⁵ designed to lead to a coalition⁶ government has been rejected by Israel because it does not recognize the Jewish state, renounce⁷ violence or fully⁸ accept past peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Olmert says Israel is willing to talk to its enemies, but they also have to be willing to talk to Israel.

On Iran, Mr. Olmert says the international community must increase pressure on Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. Iranian officials say their nuclear energy program is for peaceful purposes only, but Israel says Iran is the greatest threat to its security.

Mr. Olmert says for now Israel supports peaceful efforts to get Iran to comply with U.N. Security Council demands to curb⁹ its enrichment program.

"I believe that the coordinated¹⁰ effort - the diplomatic and economic and financial measures - can cause the result we are looking for. And therefore I am not defining any other thresholds or timetables," he said.

Mr. Olmert also said Syria's support for Hezbollah militants¹¹ who attacked Israel last year rules out for now any chance of peace talks.

He also rejected assessments¹² made recently by a senior Israeli intelligence official who said Hezbollah has regained¹³ its military strength and is now once again a threat to Israel.

Mr. Olmert saw his poll numbers decline precipitously last year after the war in Lebanon ended without a clear military victory over Hezbollah. However, in his remarks on Wednesday he said an enhanced U.N. military force working with Lebanon's army has largely contained Hezbollah - making it virtually impossible for Hezbollah to function in its heartland.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 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。

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 legislative   

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。

5 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

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

10 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 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。

12 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

13 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。