2007年VOA标准英语-Bush, Olmert Back Palestinian President

By Scott Stearns
White House
19 June 2007

U.S. President George Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are backing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following his dismissal of a unity¹ government led by the Islamic militant² group Hamas.  President Abbas' Fatah group retains control of the West Bank, which is Israeli occupied, after Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports on a meeting Tuesday between Mr. Olmert and Mr. Bush at the White House.

President Bush (r) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, 19 Jun 2007

President Bush says he and the Israeli Prime Minister share a common way forward toward an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.  And that vision is based on helping³ Palestinian moderates led by President Abbas.

"He was elected. He is the president. Secondly⁴, we recognize that it was Hamas that attacked the unity government," the president noted⁵.  "They made a choice of violence."

Hamas won democratic elections last year. But President Bush says those leaders have failed the Palestinian people by sparking the violence in Gaza that led to President Abbas swearing-in a new cabinet on Sunday.

The United States and European Union moved quickly on Monday to back Mr. Abbas's new government by announcing an end to an economic and political embargo⁶ put in place after the Hamas electoral victory in January 2006.

Prime Minister Olmert says he stands ready to meet again with President Abbas, but he did not say he is ready to revive peace talks with the Palestinians, which collapsed⁷ in 2000.

"The idea that I have is to talk with him of the current issues that can help upgrade the quality of life for the people and provide them better security in the West Bank and to share with him the efforts to combat terror," he said.

Palestinian Hamas militant talks on radio in front of a mural showing the late Fatah leader Yasser Arafat outside his former compound in Gaza City (16 Jun 07)

Since Hamas gained control of Gaza, Israel has sealed the border crossings into the strip, leading to fears of a humanitarian⁸ crisis. Prime Minister Olmert says Israel will continue to provide everything that is necessary to meet humanitarian needs.

"Israel will not be indifferent to the human suffering in Gaza," he added.  "Israel will be different from the Palestinians themselves, because the reality is that all this suffering is caused by Palestinians against their own people. What Hamas was doing in Gaza is absolutely atrocious and intolerable."

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel or renounce⁹ violence. Israel, the European Union and the United States consider it a terrorist group. Much of its support comes from Syria.

Prime Minister Olmert says he is ready to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  Ahead of Tuesday's talks at the White House, President Bush said Israel does not need U.S. mediation¹⁰ to initiate¹¹ talks with Syria.  In the past, the Bush administration has been cool to the idea of Israeli-Syrian talks.

The president and prime minister also discussed efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Mr. Bush said it is a "serious threat" to the security of the Middle East, and he will continue working with allies to tighten¹² economic sanctions.

Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful civilian¹³ purposes.

1 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。

2 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。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

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 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

11 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

12 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

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。