VOA英语2010年-Abbas: No Direct Peace Talks with Israel Unt

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated¹ a previous demand that Israel halt all settlement building before direct peace talks can resume, during a meeting Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

It was a day of intense diplomatic activity, as Palestinian negotiators met with top Egyptian and Arab League officials. Palestinian President Abbas stressed that he had come for the support and consul² of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, as the Palestinians and the Arabs contemplate³ what to do next following the most recent snag in the on-again, off-again peace process.

Abbas told journalists, after meeting President Mubarak, that he will accept no direct peace talks with Israel, so long as the Jewish state continues to build settlements on Palestinian land.

He said Palestinian position, as well as that of President Mubarak, is that there can be no negotiations⁴ so long as [Israeli] settlements continue. He stressed that he has conveyed this position to the U.S. and that the Palestinian side is demanding that clear rules be put in place.

The U.S. informed Palestinian leaders, several days ago, that it had been unable to persuade Israel to agree to prolong a freeze in settlement activity on the West Bank or in [East] Jerusalem.

The Palestinian leader indicated that he was sending top negotiator Saeb Erekat to Washington to find out what the U.S. intends to do with the peace process, now that Israel has refused to halt settlement activity.

He said he isn't quite sure what Israel and the U.S. have determined⁵ to do next, but that he will find out the answer to that question in the next few days. He emphasized that [top negotiator] Saeb Erekat is now on his way to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as with [U.S. envoy⁶] George Mitchell.

Israeli Defense⁷ Minister Ehud Barak is also due to visit Washington to attend a conference but has downplayed speculation⁸ he might be involved in talks.

Abbas also left the final decision on talks, either direct or indirect, with Arab and Palestinian leaders. The Arab League "follow-up committee" is due to meet in Cairo to discuss the current diplomatic impasse⁹ in the next few days.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa has concurred¹⁰ with the Palestinian position on settlement activity.

Moussa said the Arabs will not accept direct negotiations so long as Israel continues to build settlements, because that would be tantamount to unconditionally¹¹ accepting Israeli terms. He added that the Arabs plan to listen to what U.S. envoy George Mitchell has to say in his upcoming visit to the region, as well as what the U.S. has to say to the Palestinians in Washington.

The Arab League chief did not, however, use strong language or threaten drastic action, as he has done at recent meetings of the Arab League follow-up committee. Moderate Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are known to prefer a diplomatic approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict, despite pressure from Syria and other hardline states to be more pro-active.

1 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

2 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

3 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

4 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。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

9 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

10 concurred   

同意（concur的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
• So many things concurred to give rise to the problem. 许多事情同时发生而导致了这一问题。

11 unconditionally   

adv.无条件地

参考例句：

• All foreign troops must be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. 所有外国军队必须立即无条件地撤出。
• It makes things very awkward to have your girls going back unconditionally just now! 你们现在是无条件上工，真糟糕！ 来自子夜部分