2007年VOA标准英语-Palestinian Factions Begin Talks in Mecca

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
07 February 2007

Leaders of the two main Palestinian factions¹, Fatah and Hamas, are meeting in the Muslim holy city of Mecca to try to form a unity² government and end the intra-Palestinian violence that has rocked Gaza. The host of the meeting, Saudi Arabia, says solving the crisis is more urgent than ever. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

From right: Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah, Khaled Meshaal. Ismail Haniyeh walks behind Mahmoud Abbas in Mecca, 7 Feb 2007

The rival Palestinian leaders met in Islam's holiest city in an effort to end the deadly factional fighting and begin moving toward a unity government.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed³ to bring concrete results back to the Palestinian people.

"We tell them to expect good news," he said. "I tell them that we will not leave this place without an agreement."

The open-ended talks in Mecca follow a violent week in Gaza, where more than 20 people died in gun battles between Fatah and Hamas before a truce⁴ took effect Sunday. The two sides are trying to re-start negotiations⁵ on forming a national unity government. Earlier negotiations have repeatedly broken down without results.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said he hoped the sacred setting for this new round of talks would inspire the participants to reach a deal.

"In fact, we came here to agree and we have no other option but to agree," he said.

Turning to face Mr. Abbas, Meshaal said both of them had to tell their supporters to respect the truce.

"We want to give a message to the nation, and the world, to create a positive atmosphere for these talks and make this dialogue a success," he said.  

"This has to continue during and after the talks," Mr. Abbas responded.

Hamas parliamentary leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was also at the meeting, said there should be what he called an "honor code" preventing factional fighting in the Palestinian territories. He said he is praying for a "new page" in Palestinian internal relations.

One of the key issues in the talks is control over the Palestinian security forces. Another is whether Hamas will agree to abide⁶ by earlier peace agreements with Israel.

Israel has warned that it will not accept or negotiate with any Palestinian government that does not explicitly⁷ renounce⁸ violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

Hamas has long refused to recognize Israel. The group, which won a large majority in last year's parliamentary elections, also rejects previous peace deals signed by Israel and the Fatah-led PLO.

Saudi King Abdullah did not attend the talks himself, but he did host a lunch for the leaders. Saudi Arabia is taking an unusually public role in these negotiations. The kingdom generally prefers to work behind the scenes when it comes to diplomacy⁹. But Saudi leaders have expressed concern that the violence in Gaza could spill over to the wider region, and have decided¹⁰ to move more assertively¹¹ in an effort to prevent that.

1 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

5 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。

6 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

7 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

9 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 assertively   

断言地，独断地

参考例句：

• Using the right body language helps you communicate more assertively. 使用正确的肢体语言会帮助你更有主张力的交流。
• Learning to communicate assertively involves learning to be honest, open and direct. 果敢自信的交往方式的学习包括做到为人诚实、坦率和直言不讳。