VOA常速英语2007-Palestinians Want 6-Month Deadline for Reaching

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
05 October 2007

The Palestinian Authority is pushing for a tight timetable for reaching a permanent peace treaty with Israel. But as Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel prefers a slower approach.

Palestinian officials want to set a six-month deadline for negotiating a final peace agreement with Israel.

Information Minister Riad Malki told a news conference in the West Bank that the timetable would begin after both sides present a joint¹ document on Palestinian statehood at an international peace conference in the United States this year.

The United States wants to revive the peace process after the Islamic militant² group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip more than three months ago.

Hamas routed the forces of the rival Fatah faction³, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now heads a more moderate government in the West Bank. Mr. Abbas believes swift movement toward a peace treaty would weaken Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel.

But Israel does not want deadlines. Officials say core issues like Jerusalem, refugees and borders have baffled diplomats⁴ for decades and it is impossible to resolve them in just six months. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev says the Palestinian Authority or PA. should take a more realistic approach.

"As much as the government of Israel and the government of the PA want to move forward in a process of peaceful dialogue and trying to move forward on the peace process, obviously the Palestinian narrative⁵ and the Israeli narrative differ sharply," said Regev.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will try to bridge the gaps when she visits here next week. Depending on progress, officials say she could announce a date for the peace conference.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 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。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。