VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says Israel Should Reciprocate Pal

By Scott Stearns
Marrakech, Morocco
02 November 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Arab foreign ministers in Morocco to discuss Israel's offer to limit the expansion of Jewish settlements. Clinton says Israel should reciprocate¹ positive Palestinian moves to improve security.

Secretary Clinton says Palestinian President Mahmud Abass has shown "leadership and determination" to improve security, and Israel "should reciprocate."

Her comments in Jerusalem Saturday praising Israel's offer to limit the expansion of Jewish settlements were widely criticized in the Arab world.

Palestinian officials say the Obama administration is encouraging Israel to sidestep a 2003 agreement calling for a complete halt to those settlements.

Jordan and Egypt issued statements critical of the apparent shift in U.S. policy. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is "deeply disappointed" and says "failure is in the atmosphere" regarding Obama administration efforts to resolve the conflict.

After meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Morocco, Clinton sought to deflect² that criticism, saying none of her counterparts characterized what she said in Jerusalem as representing a change in U.S. position. "They engaged with me at length about what it is that Israel is offering, why I believe it is unprecedented³. We discussed how the position of the Obama administration has not changed. We do not believe that settlements are legitimate⁴. We have said that repeatedly. And we have made that clear to the Israelis, the Arabs, the Palestinians, and the world," she said.

She says that a number of her counterparts were not aware that the Israeli offer included an end to all new settlement activity in the West Bank, an end to the expropriation of Palestinian land, and an end to any new construction permits. While Clinton says that offer is not enough, she believes it is unprecedented. "When we praise what the Palestinians do on security, it is meant to send a signal that progress is underway, and it is progress toward a two-state solution. When I say that the Israeli government is making an unprecedented offer - even though it is not what many would hope for and even though our position remains⁵ the same that settlement activity is not legitimate - nevertheless it holds out the promise of moving a step closer to a two-state solution," she said.

Clinton spoke⁶ to reporters in Marrakech during a joint⁷ news conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri. He says the Moroccan government appreciates the Obama administration's role in trying to find a solution to the conflict. "We believe since a long time that peace is possible and the vision of two states is the best thing. And the negotiations⁸ will have to reach this important and strategic goal," he said.

Secretary Clinton is in Morocco for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to discuss human rights, democracy, and economic development in the region.

She will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Wednesday

1 reciprocate   

v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答

参考例句：

• Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
• Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。

2 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 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。

8 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。