VOA标准英语2009年-Israel Condemns UN War Crimes Resolution

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
16 October 2009
Israel comdemns the United Nations Human Rights Council's approval of the Goldstone Report which accuses Israel and the Palestinian militant¹ group Hamas of war crimes during the Gaza conflict in January.

Israel says the resolution is biased² and one-sided, and the charges of war crimes are outrageous³.

"This diktat is phrased in very extreme terms that try to impose rules that will make it impossible for any country to defend themselves against terror," said Israeli spokesman Yigal Palmor.

Israel says its three-week assault on the Gaza Strip was an act of legitimate⁴ self-defense in response to years of Palestinian rocket attacks.

The resolution also accuses Hamas of war crimes, something the Islamic militant group denies. But the international focus is on Israeli actions which killed at least 1,100 Palestinians.

The matter will now be referred to the United Nations Security Council which has the authority to involve the International Criminal Court in The Hague. But that poses a dilemma⁵ for the world powers which are trying to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palmor says any punitive⁶ action will have negative consequences. "If this implies any practical steps taken against Israel, it will make it impossible for any Israeli government to take risks for the sake of peace and that will be detrimental⁷ for the peace process," he said.

Palestinian officials welcomed the resolution, but chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the question is what happens next. "I think the most important thing now is the follow-up. The follow-up here is that we want to insure the non-reoccurrence of such massacres⁸ against the Palestinian people," he said.

The Palestinians fear that the United States, which voted against the resolution, will bury it in the Security Council.

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 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

3 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

6 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

7 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

8 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。