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Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shake hands in public for the first
time
1993: Rabin and Arafat shake on peace deal
England have
The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the PLO leader, Yasser
Arafat, have shaken hands before cheering crowds on the White House lawn in
Washington.
The handshake - the first ever in public between the two former arch
enemies - marked the signing of a Declaration of Principles for peace between
the Arabs and Israelis.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel has agreed to withdraw its troops from
Gaza Strip and West Bank by April 1994. Elections will be held in the
territories to allow the Palestinians some form of self-government.
A deadline for a final settlement has been set for February 1999.
The deal has only been made possible by talks brokered by the Norwegians
earlier in the year - and by the election of Mr Rabin's Labour government which
includes the pro-peace campaigners Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin.
President Bill Clinton introduced the two leaders to the crowd of invited
guests in front of the White House. By his side, were former Presidents Jimmy
Carter and George Bush who had vigorously campaigned for peace during their
terms in office.
Mr Clinton said: "The peace of the brave is within our reach. Throughout
the Middle East there is a great yearning for the quiet miracle of a normal
life.
"We know a difficult road lies ahead. Every peace has its enemies."
The leaders did not sign the declaration themselves. Instead, Israeli
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart did the
signing.
Mr Rabin then addressed the crowd: "We who have fought against you the
Palestinians, we say to you today in a loud and clear voice, enough of blood and
tears, enough."
Mr Arafat said: "The difficult decision we reached together was one that
required great courage."
The BBC's correspondent John Simpson said Mr Arafat had undoubtedly put his
life on the line for this agreement.
Ian Duncan Smith won 61% of the vote
2001: Duncan Smith is new Tory leader
Artificially 1969: FilmTheTheAA A relatively unknown former soldier and
standard bearer of the Tory right has been elected the new leader of the
Conservative Party.
Iain Duncan Smith won 61% of the votes, soundly beating his rival Ken
Clarke in a ballot of over 300,000 Tory members.
The result was due to be announced on 12 September, but was delayed because
of the terror attacks in the United States.
Mr Duncan Smith is the third Tory leader in four years after William Hague
stepped down in the wake of the Conservatives' defeat on 7 June.
Mr Duncan Smith announced his top team soon after the result was
published:
Michael Howard: shadow chancellor
Michael Ancram: shadow foreign secretary
David Davis: party chairman
His choice of two beaten contenders - Mr Ancram and Mr Davis - was designed
to help heal some of the deep rifts which still plague the party.
But some Tory MPs are nervous that the rebel who publicly opposed the
government policy on Europe during John Major's premiership should now be
leading the party.
Anthony Steen, Conservative MP for Totnes, said he doubted the Eurosceptic
Mr Duncan Smith could lead the party to election victory.
"If he can rid himself of his extreme right-wing image, I think he stands a
very much better chance," he told the BBC.
The new Tory chief faces the prime minister for the first time on 14
September in a House of Commons emergency debate about the attack on
America.
But he pledged his support for Tony Blair in his first public speech as
leader.
"My party will stand shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister and his
government in supporting our friends and allies in the US during this tragic
time," he said.
Vocabulary:
arch: chief; eminent; greatest; principal(主要的)
yearning: full of longing or unfulfilled desire(向往)
rift: a personal or social separation (as between opposing
factions)(不和)
plague: cause to suffer a blight(折磨;使苦恼) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:40:29