2007年VOA标准英语-Palestinian-Israeli Summit Postponed

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
06 June 2007

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has postponed¹ a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that was scheduled for Thursday in the occupied West Bank. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 04 Jun 2007

The announcement that Mahmoud Abbas is putting off the planned summit was made by the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Ziad Abu Amr, who said Israel had not responded to a variety of Palestinian demands, including the release of funds to the Palestinian Authority, and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Israeli officials say the summit was postponed based on a request from Palestinian officials. The meeting was supposed to have taken place in the West Bank town of Jericho, the first ever talks between the two men to be held in Palestinian territory.

Saeb Erekat, a close aide to President Abbas, says a meeting will eventually take place but more needs to be done to prepare for it.

"Well, I believe the preferable thing is to hold it here as a bilateral². We want to have a successful meeting," said Erekat. "We are both focusing on the substance and not the time and venue³, and we hope that as soon as we can conclude the preparations for the meeting we will hold it here."

Palestinian officials want Israel to release about $700 million in frozen tax and customs receipts that Israel has collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. The money has been frozen by Israel since shortly after last year's Hamas victory in Palestinian legislative⁴ elections.

Israeli officials have expressed a willingness to release a portion of the money directly to President Abbas, bypassing the Hamas-controlled Palestinian unity⁵ government.

Palestinians also say Israel has not moved forward on plans to release Palestinian prisoners, and has refused to consider a truce⁶ in the West Bank, similar to one Israel and the Palestinians agreed to in the Gaza Strip last year.

Israeli officials say they will not release prisoners who could threaten Israelis, and will not consider a truce in the West Bank as long as Palestinians fire rockets at southern Israel from Gaza.

Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert last met on April 15, as part of a U.S.-mediated plan for the two men to hold bi-monthly meetings in a bid to revive Mideast peace efforts.

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

4 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。

5 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。

6 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。