VOA标准英语2010年-US Launches Direct Mideast Peace Talks

"Those who oppose the cause of peace will try in every way possible to sabotage¹ this process as we have already seen this week." - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has launched the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years.

Both sides agreed to a second round of talks to be held in the Middle East later this month.

 

At a ceremony in the State Department's ornate Benjamin Franklin room, Secretary Clinton said the Obama administration is committed to forging a peace agreement within the next year.

She stressed the main work will have to be done by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "We believe, prime minister and president, that you can succeed and we understand that this is in the national security interest of the United States that you do so.  But we cannot and we will not impose a solution," she said.

Sitting under sparkling chandeliers at a U-shaped table between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas, Clinton congratulated the leaders for agreeing to resume negotiations².  But she warned of difficult days to come in the effort to create an independent Palestinian state and security for Israel. "There undoubtedly³ will be obstacles and setbacks.  Those who oppose the cause of peace will try in every way possible to sabotage this process as we have already seen this week," she said.

Violence, security

Violence has always threatened to derail peace efforts.

In recent days, a pair of attacks killed four Jewish settlers in the West Bank.  The Palestinian militant⁴ group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and opposes peace talks with Israel, claimed responsibility.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu said such attacks threaten the negotiations and highlight Israel's need for security. "They seek to kill our people, kill our state, kill our peace and so achieving security is a must.  Security is the foundation of peace," he said.

 
Major challenge

A critical first test for the peace talks could come later this month.  Israel's 10-month moratorium⁵ on settlement construction in the West Bank expires September 26.

Mr. Abbas has said the negotiations will be called off if Israel fails to extend the freeze.

In his remarks, the Palestinian president made his position clear. "And we call on the Israeli government to move forward with its commitment to end all settlement activities and completely lift the embargo⁶ over the Gaza Strip," he said.

The negotiations are the first direct talks since the last effort broke down in December 2008.  The Obama administration spent its first 20 months in office coaxing⁷ the two sides back to the bargaining table.

Despite the success in launching the talks, the gaps between the two sides are wide and distrust remains⁸ after years of violence and deadlock⁹.

U.S. Middle East envoy¹⁰ George Mitchell called the first round of talks productive and he announced that the parties have decided¹¹ to meet regularly to negotiate. "They agreed to meet again on September 14 and 15 in the region and roughly two weeks thereafter, every two weeks thereafter," he said.

The Palestinians want a state in areas Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Mr. Netanyahu has accepted the idea of a Palestinian state, but with significant conditions and without East Jerusalem.
 

1 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

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 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

4 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。

5 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

10 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。

11 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。