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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
24 October 2009
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File)
The Palestinian Authority has announced a date for elections, throwing a wrench1 into national unity2 talks with its Islamic militant3 rivals.
Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree that presidential and parliamentary elections will take place on January 24. But the announcement only deepened Palestinian divisions.
The vote is supposed to take place in the West Bank, which is controlled by Mr. Abbas, and the Gaza Strip which is ruled by its rival faction4 Hamas. But Hamas quickly rejected the call for elections, saying it is illegal and unconstitutional.
Senior Hamas official Ahmad Bahar told a news conference in Gaza that Mr. Abbas's rule is illegitimate and he has no authority to declare elections. He said Mr. Abbas should be put on trial "for impersonating a president."
Hamas routed Mr. Abbas's Fatah forces in the Palestinian civil war in Gaza in 2007 and seized control of Gaza; since then, the two factions5 have been at loggerheads. Mr. Abbas now heads a more moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank that supports the peace process with Israel.
Speaking to Fatah members in the West Bank town of Ramallah, President Abbas took his own swipe at Hamas.
Hamas describes my government as illegitimate, he said. But Hamas is the one that seized power in a coup6. Mr. Abbas said that is illegal and illegitimate. He said he is required by the Palestinian constitution to hold elections in January.
The Palestinian divisions pose a major obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which is the stated goal of the peace process sponsored by the United States. Hamas refuses to renounce7 violence or recognize Israel, and Israel says as long as the group rules Gaza, there cannot be a Palestinian state.
Egypt has tried to overcome this obstacle by sponsoring reconciliation8 talks between Hamas and Fatah. But as one Hamas official put it: Mr. Abbas has dealt a "lethal9 blow to reconciliation."
1 wrench | |
v.猛拧;挣脱;使扭伤;n.扳手;痛苦,难受 | |
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2 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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3 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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4 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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5 factions | |
组织中的小派别,派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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6 coup | |
n.政变;突然而成功的行动 | |
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7 renounce | |
v.放弃;拒绝承认,宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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8 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
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9 lethal | |
adj.致死的;毁灭性的 | |
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