2007年VOA标准英语-Israel, Palestinians Pledge New Peace Efforts

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
25 January 2007

A week before the Bush administration tries to revive stalled Middle East peace talks, Israeli and Palestinian politicians pledged new efforts Thursday to secure a breakthrough during a high-level conference in Davos, Switzerland. From Paris, Lisa Bryant has more on their remarks made at the World Economic Forum¹.

Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made an emotional appeal for Israel and Palestinians to live side by side, and pledged her government would work with Palestinian moderates.

But in an obvious reference to Hamas, the hard-line political faction² that controls the Palestinian government, she warned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against working with extremists.  She also held firm to the notion of separate Israeli and Palestinian states.

 
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni speaks during a plenary session on the Middle East during the World Economic Forum
"The establishment of a Palestinian state as a homeland for the Palestinians is the answer, the national answer to the Palestinians wherever they are," she said.  "Those who live in the territories and those who live outside of the territories. And including the refugees."

Livni's remarks came during a special panel on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the World Economic Forum, a four-day meeting of politicians and business leaders that takes place annually³ at the Swiss resort of Davos.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meeting separately in Davos Thursday called for direct peace talks and said they wanted to reach a final agreement within a two-year time frame.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders are scheduled to meet in Washington next week with representatives of the so-called Middle East quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

Speaking at the Davos forum, Abbas urged the two sides to follow an already-established road map, or blueprint⁴ for peace in the Middle East.

 
Mahmoud Abbas (on screen) addresses the World Economic Forum as Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni listens during the session, 25 Jan 2007

"We have the road map, a road map that includes the Arab initiative as well as President Bush's vision regarding the two-state solution," he said.  "What is required now, in all honesty, is for us to trace the beginning and the end of this peace process. The map is there, we have all agreed to it. So let us sit down and seek to implement⁵ this plan."

But implementing⁶ the road map will not be so simple. Palestinians and Israelis are at odds⁷ over a number of key issues, including the status of Palestinian refugees. The Palestinian territories are in turmoil⁸, and the Hamas-controlled Palestinian government so far rejects a peace deal with Israel. Meanwhile Livni's own government is weak and split by internal rivalry⁹.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other Middle East problems, along with alarming climate changes, top the agenda at this year's Davos conference.

 

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

4 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

5 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。

6 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

9 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。