VOA常速英语2007年-Split in Palestinian Leadership Causes Hardship

By Jim Teeple
Gaza Strip
24 December 2007
 

Six months ago, Hamas Islamic militants¹ seized control of the Gaza Strip, ousting² Fatah forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.  VOA's Jim Teeple reports that the past six months have been hard for Gazans and, with no sign that Hamas militants plan to moderate their positions, conditions could get even worse.

The gas is running out in Gaza.  Israel recently began cutting fuel supplies in yet another bid to pressure militants here to stop firing rockets at Israeli towns just across the border.   

Hamid Bahalal is one of the biggest gas station owners in Gaza. He says fuel supplies have been cut in half and there is not enough gas to run basic services. "It is not enough for the Gaza Strip – for the hospitals, for the water wells, for the stations, for the cars, for everything."

With little gas, Gaza's once bustling³ streets are now deserted⁴. Donkey carts have replaced trucks.  Israeli officials say fuel supplies have only been cut by 15 percent.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in a bloody⁵ revolt against Fatah forces, who were widely viewed as corrupt⁶ and lawless.   Following the takeover, Israel sealed Gaza's borders. The Israelis consider Hamas a terrorist organization.  

Hamas officials, such as Fawzi Barhoum, offer no apologies.  Barhoum says Hamas brought much needed stability to Gaza.  He says outside forces cause Gaza's problems. "First of all, we are not responsible for the siege embargo⁷, which is a collective punishment against the Palestinians who voted for Hamas.  But, finally, we took over Gaza as a security step and we believe that we will turn it back to the road of dialogue and the road of negotiation⁸ with Abu Mazen (Abbas) and with Fatah."  Hamas speaks of reconciliation⁹, but it continues to consolidate¹⁰ power in Gaza. It recently took over Gaza's court system and key ministries¹¹.  

Raji Sourani is the director of the Palestinian Center for Human rights. He says Hamas has brought stability, but Gazans are less free today then they were six months ago.  "I am talking about problems related to torture, political arrests, banning freedom of expression.  I am talking about attacking the judiciary and taking over the civilian¹² judiciary.  I'm having problems related to the detention¹³ of people and applying the rule of law.  These are serious issue and are a deep concern and we are giving it focus."

Hazem Abu Shanab knows all about those issues.  He is the Fatah spokesman in Gaza. He recently organized the first mass demonstration¹⁴ in Gaza against Hamas rule, and blames Hamas gunmen for killing¹⁵ several Fatah supporters during the protest.  Abu Shanab says Hamas needs to change the way it thinks.  "The problem is in the Hamas mentality¹⁶.  They need to know they have to participate and they have to share in the making up of the future of the Palestinian people.  They cannot rule by themselves."

Meanwhile, ordinary Gazans, such as a woman and her sons we met, struggle to make a living.  The strawberries she sells would normally end up in Israel or Europe, but now she sells them for virtually nothing here on the streets of Gaza. 

1 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。

2 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

3 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

8 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

9 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

10 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

11 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 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。

14 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

16 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。