VOA常速英语2008年-US Seeking Clarification of Israeli Housing Pla

By David Gollust
Washington
12 February 2008

The United States is seeking clarification of Israeli plans, announced Tuesday, to build some 1,100 new homes for Israelis in and around east Jerusalem. The State Department called the move a potential irritant to Middle East peace efforts. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials here stop short of outright¹ criticism of the Israel announcement. But they nonetheless say it has the potential to upset peace efforts being shepherded by the United States, and say U.S. concerns will be raised at senior levels of the Israeli government.

Israel's Housing Ministry² said Tuesday it was beginning the contracting process for the construction of 750 new housing units in the Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev in the northern part of east Jerusalem, and as many as 370 new units in Har Homa, another Jewish housing bloc³ on disputed land overlooking the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

The announcement of an earlier plan to expand Har Homa in December stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks only days after the U.S.-organized regional peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

At a news briefing, State Department Sean McCormack said U.S. diplomats⁴ would seek clarification of the housing plans from both the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

He said actions like Tuesday's announcement are potential irritants and distractions⁵ from the drive to get a final status Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement but said the United States does not doubt the commitment of Mr. Olmert or Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to that process.

"These two sides, the Israelis and Palestinians, know that it is in their interests to reach an agreement. We're going to do everything that we possibly can to help them. We are going to do everything that we can to rally the support of the international community to help them reach an agreement. And there is no doubt in our mind, at all, that both sides are equally committed, deeply committed, to trying to reach an agreement," he said.

Though he declined to provide specifics, McCormack said U.S. diplomats agree with Israeli officials who have reported progress in talks this week between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator and former prime minister Ahmed Quriea.

The sides agreed at Annapolis to try to get a final peace accord by the end of this year, though Israeli officials have lately said an agreement on principles to govern a final accord is a more reasonable expectation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam⁶ Fayyad held talks in Washington with senior administration officials Monday, including a White House meeting with National Security Adviser⁷ Stephen Hadley that President Bush briefly⁸ participated in.

Fayyad, in a policy speech, accused Israel of failing to keep commitments to freeze West Bank settlement activity and ease checkpoint restrictions⁹, and said Israel shares blame with the militant¹⁰ Palestinian Hamas movement for the crisis in Gaza.

Fayyad also met here with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who aides say plans to make her next trip to the Middle East in early March.

1 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。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 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。