VOA标准英语2011--Israeli Settlement Expansion Raises West Bank Tensions

Israeli Settlement Expansion Raises West Bank Tensions

After the United Nations' cultural organization UNESCO voted to grant membership to the Palestinians, Israel announced it would accelerate construction of Jewish settlements on the outskirts¹ of Jerusalem. The move drew international outrage². One of them is Givat Hamatos, a settlement that was already in the scheduling phase.

It lies on a hill between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Twenty years ago, there was temporary housing here, for newly-arrived Ethiopian and Russian immigrants.

Only 40 families live here now. But Israel plans to change that.

Galia Cohen is a retired³ city worker. She has rented this house for 20 years. She would like to have a nicer home. "I heard about it many times. But nothing has happened here," Cohen said.

Yaakov Baruchi moved to Givat Hamatos 20 years ago with his wife and two children. Now he has nine kids and wants to expand.

"This housing is not appropriate for the 21st century. Although it's nice here, this is not a house. This is what one calls a tin neighborhood," Baruchi said.

Givat Hamatos lies between two districts that Israel built on West Bank land it captured in 1967 and later annexed⁴ to Jerusalem.

Palestinians say Israel wants to consolidate⁵ control over traditionally Arab East Jerusalem and undermine the demand that it be the Palestinian capital as part of any peace agreement.

Khalil Tufakji is a map specialist and member of the Palestinian delegation⁶ to peace talks.

"They want to reduce the Palestinians in this area. And at the same time they want to double the [number of Jewis] settlers in this area, [build] 2,610 housing units in this area -- this is the first stage -- and the final stage will be 4,000 [housing units]," Tufakji said.

Israel says these areas are integral parts of Jerusalem and will remain part of Israel under any peace agreement. The Palestinians reject this.

The international community considers all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.

Shaul Arieli, a map specialist for Israel's negotiating team, says the Israeli government also wants to isolate⁷ East Jerusalem from Palestinian cities such as Ramallah to the north and Bethlehem to the south.

"Givat Hamatos is part of the plan to build a Jewish urban buffer⁸ between Bethlehem and East Jerusalem. It will be much harder to achieve peace or a final status agreement for Jerusalem with these neighborhoods," Arieli said.

The Palestinians say Israeli settlement building in places like Givat Hamatos is keeping them from returning to the negotiating table. The Israeli government cites the Palestinians' refusal to negotiate and their bid for U.N. membership as a reason to continue and even accelerate settlement construction. The deadlock⁹ has diminished hopes for a resumption of the peace talks any time soon.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

5 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。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

8 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

9 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。