VOA标准英语2009-Palestinians Say Israeli Move Could Kill Pea

By Luis Ramirez
Jerusalem
18 November 2009

Palestinian leaders are warning Israel that its approval of 900 new housing units in a disputed area of Jerusalem may kill the peace process. The warning came after the United States condemned¹ the Israeli decision. The Palestinians want Washington to toughen its approach on Israel.

 
Palestinians attend a rally against the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, 18 Nov 2009
The response from Palestinian officials contained no surprises after Israel said this week it would go ahead with construction of 900 new units in Gilo, a Jewish community in East Jerusalem.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told VOA the action threatens to kill the peace process.

"This is a clear decision and a clear message, not just for Palestinains but for the American administration itself that Israel is not willing and is not ready to stop settlement activities and much more important than this, that they are not ready for peace," said Rudeineh.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The planned construction is on lands that Israel captured as part of its victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The Jewish state later formally annexed² East Jerusalem in a move that was not recognized by the international community.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office is not commenting on the plans for expansion, but a statement on Tuesday said construction in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo is nothing new. It said Gilo is an integral part of Jerusalem and that building in the neighborhood has continued unabated for decades.

On Wednesday, President Abbas' spokesman, Abu Rudeineh welcomed President Obama's criticism of the plans for new construction in Gilo. However, he said Washington needs to go further and toughen its stance or risk ruining the peace process.

"The Americans should take seriously what is going on," he added. "The whole situation is deteriorating³. The Americans this time should change their policy, the change which we have been promised by President Obama."

President Obama, in his speech to the Muslim world in June, called for Israel to stop settlement expansion in the West Bank and allow for the establishment of a Palestinian State.

Washington, however, angered the Palestinians this month when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised what she said were Israel's concessions⁴ for peace.

Israel has offered to restrain construction on settlements in the West Bank, but has made no offers regarding construction in East Jerusalem.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem its undivided capital.

Palestinians' frustration⁵ over the stalled peace process has been rising in recent weeks. President Abbas has threatened to resign, and his government says it is pushing unilaterally for the declaration of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that any such action will trigger unilateral steps from the Israeli side.

1 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。

2 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

3 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

4 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。

5 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。