VOA标准英语2009年-A Year of Stalemate, Dashed Hopes in I

Israelis, Palestinians Look For New Approaches to Peace

Luis Ramirez | Jerusalem 14 December 2009

 
2009 will end with no resumption of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians

2009 saw no resumption of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.  Both sides are beginning the New Year at a stalemate over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and rising tensions over the status of Jerusalem. 

2009 began with bombs and rockets as Israel launched a massive assault, Operation Cast Lead, aimed at stopping militants² from firing rockets at Israel.

During the assault, militants from Gaza continued to fire homemade missiles over the border, exploding in communities of southern Israel.

The toll³: more than 1,000 dead - all but 13 of them Palestinians, many of them civilians⁴.  

Early in the year, rightist former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a comeback.  He took office again with a promise to bring peace by boosting the Palestinian economy, not necessarily through negotiation⁵.

The United States, under the new Obama administration, began a new push for peace.  Washington sent U.S. special envoy⁶ George Mitchell to try to bring both sides back to the negotiations⁷ table.  He made several trips during the year, each time returning to Washington with no deal in hand.

There were meetings on camera, including one in September when Mr. Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.  But there was no tangible⁸ progress, and no commitment from either side to return to talks.

Palestinian leaders said no talks can take place as long as Israelis continue to build on settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. 

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam⁹ Fayyad spoke¹⁰ in a VOA interview.  "We want a political process to be launched, one that is credible¹¹ enough, one that is strong enough, capable of delivering what we want the most, which is to bring about an end to this occupation," he said.

The Palestinian leadership is divided between the moderate Fatah faction¹² that rules the West Bank and the Islamist militant¹ group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip.  Fatah is losing support among a population impatient over the continued Israeli occupation.

President Obama raised hopes among many Palestinians when, in a speech from Cairo in June, he called for an end to Israeli settlement building.  "The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable.  And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate¹³ Palestinian aspiration¹⁴ for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own," Mr. Obama said. 

Hope turned into disappointment among many Palestinians.  Many were angered when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - on a visit to Jerusalem - praised Israel's behavior. "What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements, which he has just described, no new starts for example, is unprecedented¹⁵ in the context of prior-to negotiations," Mrs. Clinton said.

In November, an Israeli overture¹⁶ was made when Prime Minister Netanyahu offered a temporary settlement freeze. "Today, my Cabinet authorized¹⁷ a policy of restraint regarding settlements, which will include a suspension of new permits and new construction in Judea and Samaria for a period of 10 months," he said.

But Jewish settlers were a part of the voting bloc¹⁸ that brought Mr. Netanyahu to power.  They have defied the ban and staged demonstrations¹⁹ against him, signaling a potential for more political turmoil²⁰ in the coming year.

A senior political columnist²¹ for Haaretz newspaper in Tel Aviv, Akiva Eldar, says any Israeli overture has to be seen as genuine if it is to break the stalemate.

"I can not expect the Arabs to make any move that I do not expect or I do not demand the Israelis to do.  It has to be reciprocal and symmetric," Eldar stated.

Israel continued its policy of encouraging economic growth in the West Bank by removing checkpoints and facilitating the flow of people and goods, triggering an economic boom.  But the Palestinians want a state of their own, without Jewish settlements, and sooner than Israel seems willing to deliver.  In 2009, they threatened to declare statehood unilaterally.

The year ends with the gap between Israelis and Palestinians as wide as ever.
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 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。

8 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

9 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

12 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。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

16 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。

17 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

18 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

19 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

20 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。

21 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。