2006年VOA标准英语-Israel on High Alert After Jail Siege

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
15 March 2006

Israeli police and defense¹ forces are on high alert, after Israeli forces captured a leading Palestinian militant² after storming a jail in the West Bank city, Jericho, Tuesday. Palestinian militants³ have threatened retaliation⁴ for the Israeli action.

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Palestinian police officer climbs the rubble⁵ of the prison damaged during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank town of Jericho, Wednesday March 15, 2006   
  

Israeli security forces are on a state of alert - just below the maximum alert level - following Tuesday's ten-hour siege at the Jericho jail. After tanks and bulldozers broke through the walls of the jail, Israeli forces captured Ahmed Saadat - the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - and several of his colleagues. Saadat and his associates were being held at the jail after the PFLP claimed responsibility for the assassination⁶ of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.

The siege sparked violence across the Palestinian territories and led to the abduction of a number of foreigners. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been forced to cut short a European tour and return home to deal with the crisis. His spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, told reporters Israel caused the crisis by violating the agreement concerning Saadat and the other militants in detention⁷.

"The Israelis committed a crime and we condemn⁸ this action," he said. "We urge the Europeans, the quartet [the four countries working for Mideast peace] and the United States to do all their best to help keep the lives of the kidnapped persons [the militants] in the prison."

The militants had been in detention under an unusual arrangement agreed to by Israel, the United States and Britain, which allowed for the militants to be in Palestinian custody⁹ at the jail - their incarceration¹⁰ monitored by U.S. and British officials. After British and U.S. monitors vacated the facility, citing security concerns, Israeli forces laid siege to the jail.

Israeli cabinet minister Zeev Boim, says Israel decided¹¹ to act after it appeared to Israeli authorities that President Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, would release the militants.

"Unfortunately when Hamas came to power, after the last elections took place, the situation changed and even President Abu Mazen admitted he was ready to release these murderers," said Boim.

Israeli officials say Ahmed Saadat and his associates, as well as another Palestinian linked to a massive arms shipment to the Palestinians that was intercepted¹² at sea by Israel in 2002, will now be put on trial in Israeli courts.

1 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。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

9 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

10 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。