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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Palestinians Sign Unity1 Deal in Cairo
The leaders of the Palestinian factions2 Hamas and Fatah have agreed to reconcile, under a deal criticized by Israel.
The reconciliation3 deal aims to unify4 the rival Palestinian governments with an interim5 government leading to elections next year. After a brief, last minute delay, the ceremony got underway with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and foreign dignitaries in attendance.
While the planned caretaker government has been described by Fatah officials as an independent body of technocrats6, Meshaal struck a more political tone.
The Hamas leader told the gathering7 that "the black page of division" was behind them, and that the only real battle is with "the occupier" - a reference to Israel.
Israel has condemned8 the deal, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday saying it is "a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism,"
Netanyahu has urged Abbas to choose "peace with Israel" over any deal with Hamas - considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.
Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, is said to be willing to honor an unofficial truce9.
But Meshaal's statement, as well as continued attacks from Gaza on Israel, are likely to undermine any Israeli confidence in that position.
President Abbas also took the occasion to challenge Israel, saying it must choose between peace and settlements. Israeli building on Palestinian lands has proved a key obstacle to the peace process.
Among supporters of Palestinian statehood, the deal in Cairo is seen as the only way to move forward and end the rivalry10 which has split the Palestinian movement for the past four years amid fighting over control of Gaza.
"The real issue is to get together, speak with one voice, to pave the way for the future," said Hassan Nafae, a political science professor at Cairo University. "And this is a very, very important step and I think without it nothing will happen at all."
Egypt's role in cementing the deal comes as the new government in Cairo indicated it would open the Rafah border crossing to Gaza and ease the pressure of an Israeli blockade.
Whether this played a role in bringing the two sides together is unclear, although Egypt had worked in vain for reconciliation for years.
"Once you have a unified11 government there will be no pretext12 at all to continue the closure of Rafah," said Nafae.
Egypt under former President Hosni Mubarak had closed Rafah after the Hamas victory in Gaza in 2007, citing Cairo's commitments to existing peace deals. The old government also used the threat of militancy13 spilling into Egypt as another reason to keep the crossing strictly14 controlled.
1 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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2 factions | |
组织中的小派别,派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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3 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
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4 unify | |
vt.使联合,统一;使相同,使一致 | |
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5 interim | |
adj.暂时的,临时的;n.间歇,过渡期间 | |
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6 technocrats | |
n.技术专家,专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 ) | |
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7 gathering | |
n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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8 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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9 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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10 rivalry | |
n.竞争,竞赛,对抗 | |
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11 unified | |
(unify 的过去式和过去分词); 统一的; 统一标准的; 一元化的 | |
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12 pretext | |
n.借口,托词 | |
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13 militancy | |
n.warlike behavior or tendency | |
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14 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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