VOA标准英语2009年-US Urges Mideast Peace Talks Despite Israe

By Luis Ramirez
Jerusalem
08 October 2009

U.S. special envoy¹ for Middle East Peace, George Mitchell is calling for an early re-launch of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations². The envoy has begun meetings with officials in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The gaps Mitchell is trying to bridge are growing wider as Palestinian leaders call for resistance and Israel says there is no chance of peace anytime soon.

 
U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, left, shakes hands with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry³ in Jerusalem, 8 Oct. 2009
U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel as tensions simmered between Palestinians and Israelis over access to the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary⁴, compound in Jerusalem that houses sites holy to both Jews and Muslims.

Palestinian leaders are calling on Muslims to turn out in large numbers for Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque⁵ in the compound. The call is an apparent challenge to Israel, which has brought in thousands of additional police to prevent clashes like the ones that have broken out sporadically⁶ in the city during the past two weeks.

Mitchell told Israeli officials on Thursday that the White House will continue to press on with efforts to restart negotiations that have been stalled for 10 months. 

"President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and the U.S. government remain deeply and firmly committed to achieving comprehensive peace in the region," Mitchell said. "We believe there is no alternative to that if all the people of the region are to be able to live in peace and prosperity, and be able to achieve their aspirations⁷. That means peace between Israel and Palestinians, between Israel and Syria, Israel and Lebanon, and the full acceptance of Israel and normalization⁸ of relations with all of its neighbors in the region." 

Mitchell said he realizes that forging peace will be difficult. 

"I received a lot of advice when I accepted this position," Mitchell said. "Not one of them ever showed me that it would be easy and free of difficulty or problems. So that's to be expected. And we're going to continue with our efforts to achieve an early re-launch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians because we believe that's an essential step toward achieving the comprehensive peace to which I earlier referred." 

Israel offered less hope of an early resolution to the conflict, when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Israeli radio Thursday that there is no chance of peace anytime soon. 

Lieberman said that anyone who says it is possible to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in the coming years simply does not understand reality and is spreading illusions.

Israel has insisted it will allow for continued but limited growth of its settlements in the occupied West Bank and claim sovereignty over all of Jerusalem - part of which the Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state. The Palestinians have said they will not return to negotiations until there is a settlement freeze. 

A spokesman for the ruling Palestinian Fatah faction⁹ says the group called for a general strike in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Friday.

Mitchell met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Lieberman on Thursday. On Friday, his schedule includes meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

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 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 sporadically   

adv.偶发地，零星地

参考例句：

• There are some trees sporadically around his house. 他的房子周围零星地有点树木。 来自辞典例句
• As for other aspects, we will sporadically hand out questionnaires. 在其他方面，我们会偶尔发送调查问卷。 来自互联网

7 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

8 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

9 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。