万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-07-02&07-03, 布莱尔的新工作（在线收听） |
| Smiles and handshakes six months ago, the last time Tony Blair met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But since then everything has changed. The militant Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza by force from their partners in the Palestinian Government Fatah. Four hundred people have been killed this year in Gaza according to Palestinian medical sources. And President Abbas has named a new emergency government without Hamas. Gaza and the West Bank are divided geographically and politically. The hopes of a unified Palestinian state and a peace deal with Israel dashed. It is a huge challenge Tony Blair believes he is ready for. But the question is, are the Palestinians ready for Blair? He is welcome in the corridors of power in Ramallah. He has a vision on how to deal with the economic situation. The main issue that we would cooperate on is the economic issue. I think he will be a valuable addition. But there is a fairly damning assessment of Blair on the streets of Ramallah. This lady tells us: "I am not optimistic because he was Prime Minister. If he wanted to do something, why hasn't he done it already? If he didn't help us in the first job, why would he help us in the second job?" The owner of this jewelry shop says he doesn't trust Blair at all and doesn't believe anything will change. I doubt it very much, because he was involved from before for the Middle East for him to solve it. And it just got worse. Blair's first job will be to change the perception that he is pro-Israeli, pro-American and damage from his involvement in the war in Iraq. Many things depends on the mandate that he would be offered by the Quartet itself, But I don't think that this will make any difference for a man who is considered pro-Israeli over the past ten years. The reaction in Israel is positive. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Blair is a true friend of Israel. Tony Blair does have some qualifications when it comes to brokering peace. He showed himself to be hands-on and persistent in Northern Ireland where he managed to bring two sworn enemies together to share power. It's certainly a skill he is going to need here when trying to encourage the Palestinians to take a unified position. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem. ----------------------------------------------------- the Quartet: The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The group was established in 2002, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy. Sworn enemy: 不共戴天的敌仇 |
| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/wanhuatong/2007/42040.html |