2006年VOA标准英语-Quartet Warns of Aid Cuts Without Doctrine

By David Gollust
London
31 January 2006

watch Quartet report

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (l) and US Secretary of State Rice  
  
The international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East late Monday pressed the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas to renounce¹ violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept its road map to a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The four parties, meeting in London, warned that crucial aid to the Palestinian authority will be in jeopardy² if such commitments are not made.

The Quartet members, the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations. did not make an outright³ threat to sever⁴ aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government.

But they did say it is "inevitable⁵" that decisions on future aid to the Palestinian Authority will be based on its commitment to non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Quartet road map to a two-state solution of the Mideast conflict.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan read a statement on behalf of the Quartet following a nearly three-hour meeting at a London hotel, saying the four powers have expectations of both Israel and the Palestinians in the aftermath of the elections that gave Hamas a surprise majority on the new Palestinian Legislative⁶ Council.

"The Quartet calls upon the newly elected P.L.C. to support the formation of a government committed to these principles as well as the rule of law, tolerance⁷, reform and sound fiscal⁸ management. Both parties are reminded of their obligations under the road map to avoid unilateral actions, which prejudice (relate to) final-status issues," he said.

The Quartet made clear that international aid already committed should continue to flow to the caretaker Palestinian government, which is expected to run the authority for as long as three months, until a new and presumably Hamas-led government is seated.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Quartet has "deep concern" for the well-being⁹ of the Palestinian people and wants to see their humanitarian¹⁰ need met. She said the sole way to achieve this is the formation of a government that pursues peace: "There are set of obligations that have been taken by Palestinian leaders over more than a decade, and those obligations are noted¹¹ here. It is incumbent¹² now on all to insist that any future Palestinian government will indeed live up to those obligations, and that is what we have done here today," she said.

The Quartet renewed its call on Israel to halt settlement expansion, reiterated¹³ its concern about the route of Israel's security barrier in the West Bank, and also urged the sides to respect existing agreements on movement and access in the Palestinian areas.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who monitored the Palestinian elections and briefed the Quartet on the conduct of the vote, told reporters he is concerned about the prospect¹⁴ of violence if Israel tries to prevent Hamas members from transiting¹⁵ from Gaza to the West Bank, or within the West Bank to Ramallah, to join in negotiations¹⁶ on a government:

"If they are not permitted to form a government, that's a crisis that I fear might cause some serious problems, because I would guess that Palestinians from all parties would consider it to be an insult if, after they go through this beautiful democratic election, that their chosen officials, whether they supported them or not, can't even move around within their own territory," he said.

A senior Bush administration official who briefed reporters called the Quartet statement quite tough under the circumstances, given that it reflected the aggregate¹⁷ view of more than 20 countries.

The United States has for a number of years listed Hamas as a terrorist organization and forbids assistance to governments listed as supporters of terrorism.

The United States has budgeted more than $230 million in aid to the Palestinians this year. The senior official said some aid could still be delivered through humanitarian programs, but that direct aid to a Hamas-run government was not an option.

1 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。

2 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

13 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

14 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

15 transiting   

通过（transit的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• The effect of the transiting mechanic required reserve system vehicle is low. 准备金制度的传导机制的作用是很低的。
• I was busy transiting to the telescope. 我正忙着旋转望远镜。

16 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。

17 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。