VOA标准英语2009年-Arab Foreign Ministers Meet to Discuss Gaza Tru

Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo on Wednesday to seek a common position in response to Israeli attacks which have killed more than 370 people in Gaza. Pressure has been mounting on Arab leaders to act decisively to stop Israel's five-day old military operation in Gaza.

The Arab world is deeply divided in its attitude towards the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza and is the main target of the Israeli assault.
　

Saudi Arabian FM Saud Al-Faisal (R), and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa at an emergency meeting in Cairo, 31 Dec 2008

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal presided over the meeting, calling on feuding¹, rival Palestinian factions² to reconcile their differences as a prelude³ to any possible diplomatic activity to end Israel's military operation in Gaza.

He urged Palestinian factions to hold reconciliation⁴ talks, immediately, arguing that Arab foreign ministers are powerless to help them if they don't unite. Divisions among Palestinians, he warned, will just permit Israel to vanquish⁵ them.

The normally even-tempered Saud al-Faisal condemned⁶ Israel's military blitz on Gaza, calling it a crime.
　

Smoke rises following an Israeli missile strike in northern Gaza, 30 Dec 2008

He said that what is happening in Gaza can only be described as a massacre⁷ and a crime against humanity, and it will only foster more violence and more extremism, pushing everyone further and further from the announced goal of peace and security, which the Israelis say they're trying to achieve. He asked rhetorically, "What kind of peace can be achieved with a campaign using military means that merely create death and destruction?"

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa put the blame squarely on Israel for the Gaza conflict and condemned its conduct in the small enclave, insisting that the Israeli military was targeting ordinary citizens going about their daily business in extremely close quarters.
　

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, 19 Dec 2008

He said that the problem is the Israeli occupation and the Israeli blockade of Gaza and everything else springs from these two problems. He also said Israel's "aggression⁸" against the people of Gaza is hurting the entire population and he noted⁹ U.N. refugee agency reported that women, children and old people are suffering.

Moussa said Arabs should take the matter of the Israeli attacks to the U.N. Security Council, even at a risk that a resolution would face a veto from one of the five permanent members of the council.

Paul Salem, who heads the Beirut-based Carnegie Center for International Peace, thinks that Arab foreign ministers are meeting at a time when a brief window of opportunity to stop the fighting continues to narrow.

"My read is that we're in a small interim¹⁰ situation where there is a lot of behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity, trying to see if any beginnings of a deal can be made out; is Hamas beginning to think differently, will it climb down, will it have different positions, are the Israelis open for something? I know the Turks, you know… Erdogan is in Damascus. The Egyptians are very active. The French are very active. Livni is going to France, tomorrow. So, there certainly seems to be a lot of political activity, a lot of political smoke… which indicates that there seems to be some talk taking place while the drums of war continue to beat," he said.

Salem also said that he doubts Lebanon's Hezbollah wants to get involved in the fray¹¹, because its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told supporters that any rockets fired on Israel would merely encourage it to attack Lebanon.

Syria, he concluded, also doesn't appear eager to get involved in a conflict, either, and President Bashar al Assad has been meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a moderate and has ties with Israel, to try and find a diplomatic solution to the current conflict.

1 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

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 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 vanquish   

v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• He tried to vanquish his fears.他努力克服恐惧心理。
• It is impossible to vanquish so strong an enemy without making an extensive and long-term effort.现在要战胜这样一个强敌，非有长期的广大的努力是不可能的。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 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！

8 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

9 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。

10 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。

11 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。