VOA常速英语2008年-Jewish Settlements, Outposts Stumbling Blocks t

By Jim Teeple
Washington
05 March 2008
 

During his recent visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories in January, President Bush called on Israel to honor its commitment to remove unauthorized settlements and outposts from the West Bank.  But with more than 120 settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank, dismantling¹ any of them will not be easy.  VOA's Jim Teeple traveled to the West Bank and has this report.

This is what happened the last time Israeli forces tried to evacuate² an outpost in the West Bank.

This is Amona, outpost Israeli forces tried to dismantle³ two years ago.  This footage shows the kind of resistance Israeli security forces might face if they return, or try and dismantle other outposts.

This is all that is left of the nine houses destroyed that day.  

Ydit Levenger lost her house in the confrontation⁴.  Levenger called Amona home for nearly a decade. Now she lives in this nearby trailer, as do the other settlers who live in Amona. If they are forced to leave, they will probably move down to Ofra - a major West Bank settlement.  She says, "For me it is not 10 years old, it is 4,000 years old.  Abraham was here and Jacob dreamed his dream here.  The prophets lived nearby here and I tell my children their stories." 

Under a court order, no new settlers can move to Amona.  But the court has yet to decide if Israeli troops will return to dismantle these trailers and force the settlers to leave.

Yisrael Medad, a spokesman for the West Bank settlers, says the Amona settlers should be allowed to stay, as should all Jews who decide they want to live in the West Bank. 

"There is an argument about a dozen [outposts] and that is for the courts to decide,” he said. “But the principle is that there should not be any limit to having Jews live anywhere in the land of Israel, just as Arabs can live throughout the state of Israel anywhere they want to.  The impediment to the peace process is the Arab intransigence⁵ to see Jews living anywhere in the state of Israel."

Back on the West Bank here in Silwad, people feel differently.  Silwad is the Palestinian town closest to Amona and Ofra. 

Palestinians used to walk down this road to their fields in what is now Ofra and Amona.  Now the road is blocked and the only traffic are Israeli troops who Silwad residents say stage nightly raids in their town looking for militants⁶ and their supporters.

Mohammed Issa lives in Silwad but he says much of his family land now lies beyond the Israeli roadblock in Ofra. 

Issa and his mother say they have not been able to visit their land since the 1970s when it was seized by Israel.  He says these documents from the 1930s prove his ownership but Israeli authorities reject their validity because they are in his father's name, "We have taken them to court and we have the documents to prove this.  They do not recognize my ownership of the land and tell me to bring my father who is dead."

Issam Aruru, who directs a Jerusalem legal aid and human rights center, tries to help people like Mohammed Issa fight their cases with the Israeli authorities.  He says a Palestinian state will not be possible until settlements and outposts like Ofra and Amona are dismantled⁷.

"When we talk about a viable⁸ Palestinian state these outposts affect movement in the West Bank,” Aruru said. “They affect the economic living of Palestinians.  Many of them were established on agricultural land taken from Palestinians, so if we want a viable prosperous state we need to keep these resources."

These bleak⁹ hills are now the frontline in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Whether or not Israel's government can honor its pledge to dismantle outposts like Amona could determine whether or not Israelis and Palestinians can reach a peace agreement by the end of this year as their leaders have pledged to do. 

1 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

4 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

5 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

6 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。

7 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

8 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

9 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。