VOA标准英语2009年-Palestinians Accuse US of Damaging Peace P

By Luis Ramirez
Jerusalem
01 November 2009

Palestinian leaders are voicing frustration¹ after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Israel for making what she said are unprecedented² concessions³ in efforts to restart peace negotiations⁴. Israeli leaders are keeping up their calls for the Palestinians to drop all preconditions.

Palestinian leaders on Sunday stuck to their demands that Israel stop all settlement activity before any resumption of peace talks that have been stalled since December.

 
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reacts with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, seen during a press conference in Jerusalem, 31 Oct 2009
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called late Saturday for all sides to return to talks and praised what she said are Israel's unprecedented concessions, which she said include its offer to restrain settlement growth.

She urged both sides to return to talks as soon as possible and backed Israel's assertion that all demands over settlements should be dealt with during negotiations, not sooner.

"There has never been a precondition," said Clinton. "It has always been an issue within the negotiations."

Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Secretary Clinton the Palestinians will not back off their demand for Israel to freeze settlements before negotiations resume.

Speaking on Israeli radio Sunday, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reaffirmed there would be no return to talks unless Israel freezes settlements first.

 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, consults with his aide Saeb Erekat, left, during a press conference (File)
The Palestinian official said the Palestinians want peace, but not peace at any price and not the peace that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is offering.

Mr. Netanyahu addressed his Cabinet on Sunday, saying Israel will keep up its efforts to resume talks.

Mr. Netanyahu said U.S. Envoy⁵ George Mitchell was staying in the country another day, and he said Israel is making a concerted effort in order to bring about the renewal⁶ of negotiations. The Israeli leader says his government has expressed the intention to do unprecedented things to jump-start the process and he says the Americans are well aware of this.

The Israeli Prime Minister said the Palestinians have imposed preconditions that they had not imposed before during 16 years of negotiations. He says he hopes the Palestinian leaders will change their minds and start talks without delay.

An aide to President Abbas accused the Obama administration of backtracking on its earlier promises to push for a freeze on settlement construction. He said Secretary Clinton's acceptance of Israel's offer to restrain - rather than freeze - settlement growth has killed any hope of restarting peace talks anytime soon.

The settlements, whose growth has been promoted by past Israeli governments, are home to hundreds of thousands of Israelis. They were built on lands in the West Bank that Israel captured and occupied after its victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Palestinians say the existence of the settlements hampers⁷ the establishment of a viable⁸ Palestinian state.

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

4 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。

5 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。

6 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

7 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。