VOA标准英语2011--Palestinians Won't Stop Statehood Drive

Palestinians Won't Stop Statehood Drive

The Palestinians are taking their statehood bid to the United Nations this week. Palestinian leaders plan to ask the world body for full status as a state, though that has already been assured a block by the United States. Still, Palestinian leaders say, they are undeterred.
After years of holding talks with Israel in a bid to gain statehood, the Palestinians have decided¹ on a different strategy. They say they are going to the United Nations to seek status as a full member state. That plan has drawn² sharp criticism from Israel, and from the United States, which insist that statehood can only be achieved through bilateral³ negotiations⁴.
Longtime Palestinian legislator and official Hanan Ashrawi asserts the Palestinians are entitled to act on their own.
"We don't need permission from Israel," he said. "The right to self determination, and statehood, and sovereignty is enshrined in the U.N. resolutions, and in the U.N. Charter, and in international law. We have fulfilled all of the requirements of statehood according to the Montevideo Convention and the U.N. Charter."
The mechanism⁵ for recognizing statehood at the United Nations is specific. A resolution is introduced. The resolution is sent to the Security Council, which then studies it and then takes a vote on sending the measure to the full General Assembly. It then takes two thirds of the U.N.'s membership to approve voting-state status.
But the United States has announced it will use its Security Council veto privilege to stop the Palestinian resolution. If that indeed takes place, the Palestinians are left with seeking "observer state" status that falls short of full membership.
Non-voting U.N. membership not only provides a status upgrade, but it also affords access to U.N. committees and entities⁶.
According to Graeme Bannerman at the Middle East Institute, it could provide more Palestinian leverage⁷ at the bargaining table with the Israelis.
"Nobody believes that there is going to be a Palestinian state, fully⁸ recognized in the international community, without negotiations with the Israelis. That's going to happen," said Bannerman. "The issue is 'Will they be better able to negotiate with more of a 'state' recognition than being this weak entity⁹ [the Palestinians' current status] versus¹⁰ the stronger State of Israel?'"
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to say that peace will only be achieved through direct negotiations. And he says Israel will still be ready to talk even after the Palestinians seek statehood from the U.N..
"After the smoke clears, after all that is happening at the U.N., at the end, the Palestinians will come to their senses - this is what I hope - and will abandon these moves that bypass negotiations," said Netanyahu.
The PLO's Representative to the United States, Maen Areikat, says he and other Palestinian leaders are undeterred by this and any other pressures.
"This is an issue of national pride to us. Our freedom and independence are not on the table for bargaining. We will not bargain on our freedom and independence. No matter what the repercussions¹¹ and the consequences are going to be," he said.
In Washington - which provided the Palestinians with nearly $500 million in 2010 - consequences have been threatened as well. Nevertheless, Abbas says the statehood drive will not be stopped.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 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。

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 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

6 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》