VOA慢速英语20060107a

IN THE NEWS - What Now for Israeli Politics, and Middle East Peace?By Avi Arditti

Broadcast: Saturday, January 07, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

The stroke that left Ariel Sharon fighting for his life this week also left political experts debating the effects on Middle East peace efforts.

The seventy-seven-year-old former general was expected to win a record third term as prime minister in Israeli elections this March. He held a strong lead over former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party.




Ariel Sharon

Mister Sharon recently left Likud to form the Kadima Party. VOA's Jim Teeple in Jerusalem reported Friday that the Kadima Party could still win, based on public opinion studies.

But Tel Aviv University political scientist Joshua Teitelbaum says the Kadima Party may soon lose support. He thinks some of the popularity now is a sympathy vote.

Mister Sharon suffered severe bleeding in the brain Wednesday. His deputy, Ehud Olmert, became acting¹ prime minister.

As a young man, Ariel Sharon joined an armed Jewish group seeking to force British troops out of Palestine. The British administration ended after World War Two. But Arabs rejected a United Nations plan to divide the area into independent Arab and Jewish states.

Arab armies invaded Israel a day after it became a nation in nineteen forty-eight. Ariel Sharon was severely² wounded in Israel's War of Independence. Mister Sharon became known as a fearless military commander. But he was also criticized as someone who could act without restraint.

In nineteen eighty-two, as defense³ minister, he organized the invasion of southern Lebanon. He led the offensive to stop attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organization of Yasser Arafat.

But armed Lebanese groups killed hundreds of Palestinians at two refugee camps under Israeli control near Beirut. Mister Sharon was removed from office. Israeli investigators⁴ found him indirectly⁵ responsible.

He began a return to politics in two thousand. Many critics saw his visit to a disputed holy place in Jerusalem as incitement⁶ for more violence by Palestinians.

That violence played a part in the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Mister Sharon won a huge victory as prime minister in two thousand one. Israelis re-elected him in two thousand three.

Last year Palestinians elected Mahmud Abbas as their president after Yasser Arafat died. The election renewed hopes for a final peace agreement, with the goal of a Palestinian state. But progress slowed.

Shukri Abed at the Middle East Institute in Washington calls Ariel Sharon the father of building settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. He says many Palestinians probably hated him for his strong positions.

But last year Ariel Sharon completed the withdrawal⁷ of Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza. That followed an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire.

Mister Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza caused trouble within the Likud Party. In November, he and some allies formed their new centrist Kadima Party. Kadima means forward in Hebrew. Now people are waiting to see what direction the future takes.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 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。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

6 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。