VOA标准英语2009年-Israel Agrees to Palestinian Prisoner Rele

By Luis Ramirez
Jerusalem
30 September 2009

 
Palestinian relatives of Fatima Al Zaq, scheduled to be released from Israeli prison celebrate in Gaza City, 30 Sep 2009
Israel says it has agreed to release 20 Palestinian women from its prisons in exchange for a videotape of an Israeli soldier who was captured by Palestinian militants² in a cross-border raid three years ago and taken to the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants abducted³ Gilad Shalit while on he was on patrol in 2006 and took him into the Gaza Strip. Two other Israeli soldiers were killed in the raid.

Since then, militants have refused the Red Cross access to Shalit and there has been almost no information about his condition.

Public pressure has grown in Israel for the return of the thin, bespectacled soldier who was 19 at the time of his capture. His case has touched Israelis, creating a huge appetite for any news about him.

That public pressure appeared to pay off Wednesday, when Israel's security cabinet announced it will release 20 Palestinian women security prisoners and detainees. The release will be in exchange for a recently recorded videotape showing that Shalit is alive.

 
Shimon Peres (2007 photo)
Israel's President Shimon Peres, speaking on Israeli radio, indicated a deal for the young soldier's release is probably a long way off.

"It's an important step but only a single step," said Shimon Peres. "The road for his liberation is still a long one and a complicated one."

Hamas - the militant¹ Islamist faction⁴ that controls the Gaza Strip - confirmed the deal, which was brokered⁵ by German and Egyptian mediators.

A Hamas spokesman known as Abu Obeida told reporters in Gaza his group will continue to insist on the release of hundreds of higher-level Palestinian prisoners before it considers freeing Shalit. He called the agreed exchange a simple deal that he hopes will be a precursor⁶ to a comprehensive agreement.

The Hamas official said that with the help of Egyptian and German mediators, a deal had been struck to release the 20 Palestinian women held in what he described as Zionist prisons, in the coming days.

Israel says the women, who Hamas says are of various Palestinian factions⁷, are to be released on Friday.

A list of names posted on Wednesday shows none of the women to be freed were being held for murder offenses⁸ and some are nearing the end of their sentences.

1 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。

2 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。

3 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

6 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

7 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

8 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法