2006年VOA标准英语-Palestinian Efforts to Create Unity Government

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
20 November 2006
 
After weeks of intensive talks, efforts to create a Palestinian unity¹ government have stalled. Palestinians hope that, if they can form a new government that is not run by Hamas, international donor² aid, and even the Middle East peace process could be revived. Israeli policymakers have been skeptical³ of the Palestinian efforts.

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It was only a week ago that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made a rare visit to the Gaza Strip for talks with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. 

Ismail Haniyeh (File photo)

Haniyeh, a leading Hamas militant⁴, had offered to step aside, and many believed that Hamas and Mr. Abbas' Fatah faction⁵ were going to form a new government and end months of feuding⁶ and conflict. Now those talks have been put on hold - reportedly because Hamas and Fatah have been unable to agree about which faction will control key Cabinet positions like the finance and interior ministries⁷.

Yossi Alpher is a former Israeli negotiator with the Palestinians, who now edits Bitterlemons.org, a Web site that promotes Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Alpher says Hamas and Fatah put aside their differences, after Israeli forces mistakenly shelled an apartment complex in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, killing⁸ 19 members of an extended family. But, he says, that unity has not been enough to bridge differences between the two sides.

"They still have a long way to go in negotiating agreed guidelines for this government between Fatah and Hamas, guidelines that presumably would be designed to persuade Israel and the international community to change their attitude toward the government - to renew aid, and, perhaps, renew diplomatic contacts," said Alpher.

More concerns about a future unity government were raised last week, when a spokesman for Hamas told reporters that any new Palestinian government would not recognize Israel. nor accept a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

International donors⁹, like the United States and the European Union, as well as Israel, which is withholding¹⁰ customs and tax revenue it normally turns over to the Palestinians, say, if donor aid is to be revived, any new Palestinian government must agree to recognize Israel, renounce¹¹ violence and accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinians, such as Ali Jarbawi, a professor of political science at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank city of Ramallah, say, despite the stalled talks, Hamas and Palestinian President Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, will eventually agree on a new government.

"I think it is going to happen, but it might take some time. I view the time that it is taking Hamas and Abu Mazen [Abbas] and everybody, as a positive sign rather a negative one," he said. "Hopefully, we are going to have a new government, and, hopefully, it will be acceptable - internally and externally."

For their part, Israeli leaders have mostly refrained from commenting about the efforts to form a new Palestinian government.

In recent days Israel has also rejected initiatives from Spain, France, Italy and the Arab League, which have proposed reviving Middle East Peace talks. Israel says the internationally-backed roadmap peace plan is already in place, and that plan needs to be implemented¹².

Yossi Alpher of Bitterlemons.org says, these days, Israel's attention is not focused on the Palestinians, but on the potential threat of a nuclear Iran and its allies in the region.

"Israel is preoccupied¹³ today with Iran and by the Iranian threat posed by Iran's client state - Syria and by its proxies¹⁴ - Hezbollah and other anti-Israel movements that it supports, like Hamas," he said. "The focus of attention, or the point of departure for Israeli strategic thinking on our surroundings today is Iran and not the Palestinian issue."

Israel's political and military leadership is also under fire for its conduct of the military conflict with Hezbollah in July and August. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's election promise to draw Israel's final border with the Palestinians was put on hold after that conflict, and after Palestinian militants¹⁵ kidnapped an Israeli soldier and stepped up rocket attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip.

With Palestinian moves to create a unity government now stalled, and Israel's attention diverted by Iran, it appears that neither side will be offering new proposals to ease tensions and break the cycle of violence in the region anytime soon.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

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 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。

6 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

7 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

11 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。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

13 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

15 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。