您现在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> Normal Speed News  
   
 





 
US urges Mideast peace talks despite Israeli pessimism
[ 2009-10-09 18:04 ]

 

U.S. special envoy for Middle East Peace, George Mitchell is calling for an early re-launch of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The envoy has begun meetings with officials in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The gaps Mitchell is trying to bridge are growing wider as Palestinian leaders call for resistance and Israel says there is no chance of peace anytime soon.

US urges Mideast peace talks despite Israeli pessimism

U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel as tensions simmered between Palestinians and Israelis over access to the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, compound in Jerusalem that houses sites holy to both Jews and Muslims.

Palestinian leaders are calling on Muslims to turn out in large numbers for Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque in the compound. The call is an apparent challenge to Israel, which has brought in thousands of additional police to prevent clashes like the ones that have broken out sporadically in the city during the past two weeks.

Mitchell told Israeli officials on Thursday that the White House will continue to press on with efforts to restart negotiations that have been stalled for 10 months.

"President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and the U.S. government remain deeply and firmly committed to achieving comprehensive peace in the region," Mitchell said. "We believe there is no alternative to that if all the people of the region are to be able to live in peace and prosperity, and be able to achieve their aspirations. That means peace between Israel and Palestinians, between Israel and Syria, Israel and Lebanon, and the full acceptance of Israel and normalization of relations with all of its neighbors in the region."

Mitchell said he realizes that forging peace will be difficult.

"I received a lot of advice when I accepted this position," Mitchell said. "Not one of them ever showed me that it would be easy and free of difficulty or problems. So that's to be expected. And we're going to continue with our efforts to achieve an early re-launch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians because we believe that's an essential step toward achieving the comprehensive peace to which I earlier referred."

Israel offered less hope of an early resolution to the conflict, when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Israeli radio Thursday that there is no chance of peace anytime soon.

Lieberman said that anyone who says it is possible to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in the coming years simply does not understand reality and is spreading illusions.

Israel has insisted it will allow for continued but limited growth of its settlements in the occupied West Bank and claim sovereignty over all of Jerusalem - part of which the Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state. The Palestinians have said they will not return to negotiations until there is a settlement freeze.

A spokesman for the ruling Palestinian Fatah faction says the group called for a general strike in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Friday.

Mitchell met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Lieberman on Thursday. On Friday, his schedule includes meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

settlement freeze:冻结定居地

Related stories:

Israeli and Palestinian leaders to meet Obama at UN

US envoy back in Israel to push peace efforts

Netanyahu rules out dismantling West Bank settlements

Israel rejects US demand to halt East Jerusalem project

(Source: VOA 英语点津编辑)

 

英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
基本药物 essential medicine
“Whatever”获评美国人最反感口头禅
《十日拍拖手册》精讲之三
鸡仔文学 chick lit
法第一夫人网站登名人画像遭热议
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
翻译达人评选,快来投票!
经典英语口语,不得不看(推荐)
I chocolate you!怎么翻译?
请教obama演讲里的一句话
 
晒晒小D机器人暴强的翻译