VOA标准英语2010年-Palestinian Nation-Building Reaches Ha

The outlines of a Palestinian state have begun to emerge in the West Bank. Palestinian security forces have become more dependable. A transparent¹ and disciplined government is providing a growing number of essential services, and economic growth has been strong.

Preparing for statehood

This is all part of a plan by the Palestinian prime minister to prepare for the future. "Namely to get ready for statehood, to get ready for that key deliverable of the political process, for that state of Palestine we thought was not going to be founded against a backdrop of a vacuum, but on the strength of solid, well functioning, efficient institutions of government," said Fayyad.

The West Bank remains² occupied by Israel with soldiers and Jewish settlements scattered³ throughout the territory. Many analysts⁴ remain skeptical⁵ that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will yield an agreement leading to Israel handing over control of much of the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority.

But observers such as Howard Sumka, the former director of the USAID Mission to the West Bank and Gaza, say now is the time to build the foundations needed for Palestinian statehood. "They cannot start to learn their jobs or build their institutions the day after independence. They will need to be already proficient⁶. In spite of the formidable obstacles, it is imperative⁷ that they stay on this track of state building," said Sumka.

Pragmatic approach

Challenging the Palestinian Authority is Hamas, the Islamist militant⁸ group that controls the Gaza Strip, which is home to 1.5 million Palestinians. Hamas opposes peace efforts and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other nations.

Critics of Prime Minister Fayyad's program argue he is operating in an authoritarian⁹, rather than a democratic, context because of the division of Gaza and the West Bank.

Professor Nathan Brown teaches political science and international affairs at George Washington University. He said, "The political split between the West Bank and Gaza is so severe, that you cannot even have any kind of democratic procedures. When you move outside the realm of administration you find real serious political diseases. The political party system is basically disintegrated¹⁰. It does not really exist in any healthy form anymore. Palestinian politics, if you compare it to the 1990's, is in a state of serious decay."

Brown argues that even if there is a peace agreement within the next year, the Palestinian political system is so broken there would be no way to ratify¹¹ or implement¹² it. "Why are we pretending that there is a viable¹³ diplomatic process? You have got no parliament, you have got a PLO that is dead, and you have got a president whose term is expired. He has no authority to negotiate this agreement and certainly to implement it, even if he had the authority to negotiate it. What you have got to do is fix the Palestinian political system first."

Safety net

During talks in 2000 at the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David, the Israelis and Palestinians failed to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. That failure is often cited as a reason for the breakout of the second intifada, the violent Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari of the American Task Force on Palestine was a Palestinian negotiator at Camp David in 2000. He supports Mr. Fayyad's state-building effort, even if the U.S.-led peace negotiations¹⁴ fall short of a comprehensive deal.

"It creates a safety net in case of a stalemate or collapse¹⁵. There is a likelihood, there is a possibility that this peace process might collapse, come the spring, come next summer, we might realize it is not going to get us to a deal. Do we go back to a Camp David kind of scenario¹⁶ - negotiations fail, everything is over. Or do we start investing right now in a process that can help us sustain a degree of hope as we start to reassemble negotiations?" asked Al-Omari.

Mr. Fayyad thinks his state-building efforts will bolster¹⁷ the chances for a positive outcome in the peace process, despite decades of failure. "There is a whole lot to complain about in Palestine, believe me, and even to cry about, and I do a lot of both. But that is not enough as a matter of fact. Alongside all of that I think we all can agree that we Palestinians should try in the best possible way to do the best we can to get ready for that rendezvous¹⁸ with freedom."

Mr. Fayyad said Palestinians feel closer to the day they will have their own state, not because they underestimate the difficulties associated with the peace negotiations, but because there is a growing sense of self-empowerment as ordinary citizens in the West Bank can count on their government to provide the basic security and services a new nation will require.
 

1 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 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。

5 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

6 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

7 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

12 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

13 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。

14 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。

15 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

16 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

17 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

18 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。