VOA常速英语2008年-Israel's Olmert: Peace Talks Will Continue, But

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
26 March 2008

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday said peace talks with the Palestinians will continue, but he ruled out any talks with Hamas militants¹ who control the Gaza Strip.  VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau. 

Speaking to an annual gathering² of foreign journalists in Jerusalem, Mr. Olmert repeated that he is committed to reaching the outline of a peace agreement with the government of moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas this year. 

"We do not believe we can reach a comprehensive permanent agreement that will be implemented³ this year," he said.  "What we are trying to achieve this year is to reach a very accurate outline and definition of all the basic parameters⁴ of the two-state solution. If we reach that this year, and we seriously try to do it, then this will be an historic breakthrough that will lay the foundations for the permanent peace between us and the Palestinians."

Both Israelis and Palestinians say that secret negotiations⁵ now underway are making progress on some of the core issues that divide the two sides; permanent borders, refugees and the status of Jerusalem.  However, Palestinians bitterly complain that Israel has not moved to stop settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and has done little to ease Palestinians' freedom of movement in the West Bank.

Mr. Olmert defended Israeli actions, saying Israel will continue construction in areas it intends to permanently⁶ control, and will not ease roadblocks and other security measures in the West Bank, because that might put Israelis at risk.  He also criticized continuing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.  Rocket attacks have dropped dramatically in the past two weeks, but Mr. Olmert says Israel regards Hamas as an implacable enemy.

"Hamas is an obstacle," he added.  "It is not an insurmountable obstacle - it can be overcome.  We are not talking with Hamas and we are not going to compromise with someone that is consistently shooting rockets on the heads of Israelis.  We will deal with Hamas in other ways and these ways will be very painful."

Israel's Defense⁷ Minister Ehud Barak who held talks with the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday said he will approve the transfer of police vehicles and ammunition⁸ to security forces in the West Bank loyal to President Abbas. At the same time Mr. Barak, a former prime minister, said he will allow a group of Jewish settlers who were evacuated⁹ from the Gaza Strip nearly three years ago to move into mobile homes in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces in the West Bank have arrested Omar Jabar, a leading Hamas figure accused of carrying out one of the worst suicide bombings in Israeli history, the so-called Passover massacre¹⁰ in the coastal¹¹ city of Netanya in 2002. The bombing killed 30 people and wounded 143 others, and led to Israel's military reoccupation of cities in the West Bank.

1 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。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

4 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

5 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。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

10 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。