美国国务卿克里出访以色列

　　美国国务卿克里出访以色列

       JERUSALEM — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel for separate meetings Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. He hopes to press forward with a recently-revived peace initiative, though both sides' positions seemingly remain far apart.

　　President Netanyahu said prior to Kerry's visit that he is committed to the peace talks, but he said his government's positions remain the same.

　　"For peace to happen between us and our Palestinian neighbors, they must acknowledge the right of the Jewish people to have their own state in its homeland. This means they must recognize a permanent solution and withdraw their nationalistic demands," said Netanyahu.

　　Israel last week released 26 Palestinian militants¹ serving lengthy² prison terms as part of the deal that revived the peace talks three-months-ago. It is to release 52 more next year.

　　Palestinians rejoiced at the prisoner release, but were angered when Israel announced more construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Fatah Spokesman Ahmad Assaf called it a violation³ of Palestinian rights and international agreements.

　　"What we need now is to hear a clear American position to oblige Israel to accept the needs of peace and to stop this dangerous threat to the process," said Assaf.

　　Kerry has pushed a timetable for the talks to conclude in six months. There is little optimism on either side, said the head of the Institute for National Security Studies, Amos Yadlin. "I'm still thinking that reaching an agreement will be more like a miracle. The chances at the end of the nine months that we will not see an agreement are higher than the chances we will see an agreement.

　　He said an interim⁴ accord could be possible. "It's always better to have negotiations⁵ than no negotiations. But I'm taking it further than that. I think the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is not the main problem in the Middle East is now clear to everybody.

　　Yadlin said turmoil⁶ in Syria, Egypt, Libya and other parts of the region has overshadowed the peace process. And that, analysts⁷ say, is likely to be the case for some time.

1 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。

2 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 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。

6 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。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。