2007年VOA标准英语-Israel Calls for International Effort to End We

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
22 May 2007

Israeli officials have called for an international effort end what they describe as the anarchy¹ in the Palestinian territories. They also threatened further retaliation² for Palestinian rocket attacks that killed an Israeli woman, late Monday, in southern Israel. VOA's Jim Teeple reports Israeli air strikes against militant³ targets in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 30 Palestinians, in the past few days.

Israeli officials say they will step up their attacks against Palestinian militants⁴, if the Qassam rocket attacks against southern Israel do not stop.

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Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz

Defense Minister Amir Peretz says, for the time being, Israel is holding back from launching a major ground invasion of Gaza. However, he says the international community must do more to end what he describes as "anarchy" and the collapse⁶ of the Palestinian Authority.

Foreign ministry⁷ spokesman Mark Regev says Israel wants the international community to do more to stop weapons from reaching the Gaza Strip.

"This is an intolerable situation and it has to stop. But no one can doubt the fact that it is not just the Qassams [rockets] themselves. There is the larger issue of the import into the Gaza Strip of illicit⁸ weapons, including missiles, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, explosives and so forth," he said. "What we are talking to the international community about is to beef up [strengthen] the international border, from Egyptian Sinai into Gaza. That must be part of any understanding."

About 80 European Union security personnel monitor the Gaza-Egypt border, but they have little enforcement authority and, on several occasions, have had to leave their posts because of violence.

Saeb Erekat (file photo)

Meanwhile, some Israeli politicians continue to call for targeting leading Hamas figures for assassination⁹, if the rocket attacks continue. Saeb Erekat a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel needs to stop its attacks in Gaza, saying Palestinians are also trying to stop the Qassam attacks.

"I urge the Israeli government to stop such attacks and, from our side, we are doing everything possible to insure that we sustain a cessation of all sorts of violence including the firing of Qassams, howitzers and anything else," said Erekat. "Violence will destroy any attempt to revive the peace process.

Heavy factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah forces in Gaza, which led to the current crisis, has largely subsided¹⁰, in the past few days.

Israel and Palestinian militant groups had been observing a largely successful ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, since last November.

Hamas officials have said they would stop the Qassam attacks against Israel, if the ceasefire was extended to the West Bank. Israeli officials have rejected the overture¹¹, saying Hamas would use any ceasefire to rearm.

1 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

2 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》

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 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。

10 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 overture   

n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉

参考例句：

• The opera was preceded by a short overture.这部歌剧开始前有一段简短的序曲。
• His overture led to nothing.他的提议没有得到什么结果。