VOA常速英语2007-Israeli Lawmakers Sign Petition Against Division

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
19 October 2007

There is a new hitch¹ in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, a powerful group of Israeli lawmakers is trying to prevent concessions² on Jerusalem.

Sixty-one of 120 Israeli parliamentarians have signed a petition opposing the division of Jerusalem. The petitioners³ include two Cabinet ministers from the ruling Kadima party of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Another Kadima minister, Shaul Mofaz, plans to follow suit.

Mofaz tells Israel Radio that Jerusalem is not negotiable, especially at a time when the Palestinians have failed to crack down on terrorism. He says Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of the State of Israel.

The petitioners are trying to tie the hands of Mr. Olmert, who says he is prepared to divide Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians. Jerusalem and other thorny⁴ issues have prevented formulation of a joint⁵ document on Palestinian statehood to be presented at an international conference in the United States this year.

Under Mr. Olmert's plan, Israel would give up some Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, but not the Old City which is the site of contested holy sites, and some surrounding areas. Israeli analyst⁶ Pinchas Inbari says that for the prime minister it is an issue of demographics. The Jewish majority in Jerusalem would be strengthened by relinquishing⁷ neighborhoods that are home to 170,000 Palestinians.

"He's very flexible about redefining the borders of Jerusalem. He stick[s] to the opinion that the core of Jerusalem must be in the Israeli hands. But he's very much ready to give up neighborhoods that are not directly linked to the core of Jerusalem," said Inbari.

Mr. Olmert wants to leave the Jerusalem issue vague in the declaration of principles for the peace conference, while the Palestinians are insisting on details that would obligate Israel.

The Palestinians have not commented on the Israeli lawmakers' petition, but their long-standing position is that Israel must withdraw from all the territories captured in the 1967 war, including Jerusalem's Old City.

If Mr. Olmert agrees in writing to divide Jerusalem, his coalition⁸ government could collapse⁹.

1 hitch   

v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉

参考例句：

• They had an eighty-mile journey and decided to hitch hike.他们要走80英里的路程，最后决定搭便车。
• All the candidates are able to answer the questions without any hitch.所有报考者都能对答如流。

2 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

3 petitioners   

n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告

参考例句：

• Petitioners suggest that anything less than certainty, that any speculation, is irresponsible. 申诉者认为不准确的事或推断都是不负责任的。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The judge awarded the costs of the case to the petitioners. 法官判定由这起案件的上诉人支付诉讼费用。 来自辞典例句

4 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 relinquishing   

交出，让给( relinquish的现在分词 )； 放弃

参考例句：

• The international relinquishing of sovereignty would have to spring from the people. 在国际间放弃主权一举要由人民提出要求。
• We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. 我们很明白，没有人会为了废除权力而夺取权力。 来自英汉文学

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。