VOA标准英语2008年-Jordan Pressures Israel to Halt New Settlements

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
03 January 2008

The King of Jordan has pressed Israel's prime minister to stop all settlement activity in the West Bank, warning that it could endanger the region. The two men met in Jordan in a bid to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward. VOA Middle East Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from our bureau in Cairo.

In an unannounced meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Jordan's King Abdullah put new pressure on Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank.

The Jordanian king met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Red Sea port of Aqaba, a day after the monarch¹ met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

A statement from the royal palace said the king urged Israel to avoid "unilateral actions" that could block progress toward peace. King Abdullah warned Mr. Olmert that a stalled peace process "threatens the region's future, and its security and stability."

A spokesman for Mr. Olmert said the Israeli leader renewed Israel's commitment not to build new settlements or appropriate new land in the parts of the West Bank outside East Jerusalem.

He said Israel is willing to move forward in negotiations² with the Palestinians toward a comprehensive solution.

The meetings in Jordan are part of a push to keep the Israeli-Palestinian peace process on track after it was re-launched at a summit in Maryland in November.

The declaration signed in Annapolis said settlement building in the West Bank should stop.

Hassan Abu Taleb is a political analyst³ from the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.

He said settlement activity has continued despite the Annapolis declaration, and he said this undermines efforts to build confidence among Arabs and Palestinians about Israel's commitment to the peace process.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Olmert ordered his Cabinet ministers not to authorize⁴ any West Bank construction without his approval. The prime minister has been embarrassed by several recent Housing Ministry⁵ announcements on settlements that have brought charges from the Palestinians that Israel is violating the "Roadmap" peace plan.

That peace plan is expected to be discussed by a number of regional leaders in the days ahead of next week's Middle East visit by President Bush.

King Abdullah said he hopes the U.S. leader's trip will encourage the Palestinians and Israelis to implement⁶ the commitments they made at Annapolis.

The Israeli leader's spokesman said Mr. Olmert also updated King Abdullah on the situation in the Gaza Strip, where a new series of Israeli airstrikes on Thursday killed at least eight people.

1 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

2 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。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 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。