VOA标准英语 Israel Prepares to Swear In Netanyahu as Prime Minis

Israel is preparing to swear in rightist Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister. Mr. Netanyahu will lead a coalition¹ government dominated by rightists. Mr. Netanyahu, however, is sounding a conciliatory tone, promising² to work for peace with the Arabs.
　
Israeli PM-designate Benjamin Netanyahu leaves his office at the Knesset early Tuesday, 31 Mar³ 2009

Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned on promises to be tough on Palestinian militants⁴ and on Iran. He also pledged his support for the continued expansion of Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied lands.

In remarks to Israel's parliament - the Knesset - Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu sought to temper his hard-line image. He said he would work toward peace not only with the Palestinians, but also with the entire Arab and Muslim world.

Mr. Netanyahu said his government will work to make progress on the Palestinian peace process, and to reach peace with Israel's neighbors. He said this would be with the condition that Israel's security, historical and national interests be safeguarded.

Mr. Netanyahu's speech was interrupted by hecklers several times.

The incoming prime minister did not say whether he would be willing to negotiate for a two-state solution - something the United States and other nations have urged Israel to do. He indicated that his strategy for peace will focus on boosting the Palestinian economy.

Mr. Netanyahu said his message to the Palestinian leadership is that peace is attainable⁵, if the Palestinians want it. He said Israel under his government would work to develop the Palestinian economy and increase economic ties between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Analysts⁶ say Mr. Netanyahu's promises to work for peace are pragmatic steps meant to quell⁷ international concerns about the future of peace negotiations⁸ under his government.

"Everyone in the world is very concerned about whether this is a right-wing extremist government," said Gadi Wolfsfeld, a political scientist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "It's only natural that he try to calm those fears in order to maintain Israel's legitimacy⁹ in the international community."

However, Wolfsfeld says Mr. Netanyahu's basic stance has not changed. He says he expects Israel's new government to make few concessions¹⁰ to the Palestinians.

"The fact that he didn't even give lip service to the two-state solution and basically is saying, 'We don't believe in two states.' [It is] not clear, by the way, what the alternative is," he said. "I think that's a pretty good sign that he's serious about his ideology¹¹, that two states are a danger to Israel."

Mr. Netanyahu has further raised international concerns with his choice of Avigdor Lieberman, head of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, as foreign minister.

Lieberman, a former nightclub bouncer who lives in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, campaigned on promises to force members of Israel's Arab minority to pledge allegiance to the Jewish State or lose their citizenship¹².

He angered Egypt's government in October with inflammatory remarks in which he said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could "go to hell".

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

8 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。

9 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

10 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。

11 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

12 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。