VOA标准英语2008年-Israeli, Palestinian Negotiators Hold Talks on

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
14 January 2008

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have held their first bilateral¹ talks since U.S. President George Bush visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last week. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Queria met at a Jerusalem hotel to discuss the core issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - borders, the status of Jerusalem, the issue of Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Queria described the talks as positive, but said the road ahead will be difficult. Aryeh Mekel the spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry² says both sides want the talks to be private.

"I think that while both sides agreed these talks will not be secretive, we will try to push them away from the limelight to enable a constructive³ process of negotiations⁴," he said. "They will also be intensive, these negotiations."

Before the meeting got underway, Livni said she believed previous negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians had been hurt by publicity⁵.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he wants the talks to result in a peace treaty which will allow him to declare a Palestinian state by the end of this year. Israeli negotiators say they want the talks to result in a framework for a Palestinian state, but that no state will be possible until Palestinians can control Palestinian militants⁶.

The talks were condemned⁷ by Hamas leaders in Gaza. The group refuses to recognize Israel or renounce⁸ violence. Speaking late Sunday President Abbas criticized Hamas.

Mr. Abbas says the time has come for Hamas to return Gaza to Fatah control, saying he would be willing to talk to Hamas if the group renounced⁹ violence.

Mr. Abbas also said moving forward in talks with the Israelis will be difficult as long as Israel continues expanding its settlements on land it captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 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。

3 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

4 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。

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

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 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》