203 以色列封锁与黎巴嫩的边界

203 以色列封锁与黎巴嫩的边界

Israel Seals Border with Lebanon
Meredith Buel
Israel-Lebanon Border
20 Jul 2001 17:56 UTC

The Israeli army has virtually completed 1)sealing off its northern border, a little over a year after 2)withdrawing from southern Lebanon. Top military officials say, however, that continuing clashes with Hezbollah 3)guerrillas over a border dispute in an area called Shebaa Farms are a threat to regional stability. They say Hezbollah has now 4)obtained long-range missiles that could reach far inside Israel.
The strategic importance of the Shebaa Farms area, known to Israelis as Har Dov, is immediately obvious. 5)Perched on the side of a mountain, the site enjoys a 6)panoramic view of the Hatzbani Valley and Israeli communities within a few kilometers of the Lebanese border.
From their heavily 7)fortified posts in Shebaa Farms, Israeli soldiers have a commanding view into southern Lebanon, an area now under control of Hezbollah Party of God) guerrillas.
Looking out over the rugged¹ countryside, Israeli army Captain Mitch Pilcer says the area is critical to Israel's defense² of its northern communities. "The strategic importance of the Shebaa Farms area and Har Dov in general is 8)apparent to anyone who stands on the top of it," Captain Pilcer says. "And you see it commands a lookout³ over the entire valley where all the kibbutzes collective farms are and all the towns are beneath us over here. If we are talking about a situation when we are facing terrorists like the Hezbollah, who have been using Katyusha rockets, who have been trying to infiltrate⁴ the border over there, we have to be in a position above them where we can somehow see their movements and try to stop them before they reach the line where our actual population centers are."
For years, Hezbollah fought a war of 9)attrition against Israel's 10)occupation of its self-styled security zone in southern Lebanon. Last year, the Israeli military 11)pulled out of the area.
In a painstaking⁵ process, the United Nations drew the new border, but Shebaa Farms remains⁶ in dispute. Israel and the United Nations say the area is part of the Golan Heights, 12)captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. The governments in Beirut and Damascus say the area is part of Lebanon. This disagreement has led to continuing 13)clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
Since the withdrawal⁷, three Israeli soldiers have been killed and three kidnapped by Hezbollah. Israel has 14)retaliated⁸ for recent attacks by bombing Syrian targets inside Lebanon.
Israel says Hezbollah has now obtained longer-range missiles, capable of hitting targets far from the border.
Israeli Brigadier General Shuki Shihrur says the tension is threatening to make the entire region more 15)volatile⁹. "The existence of the Hezbollah in this area, the fact that he continues to fire, including with weapons that he can threaten Israel with," General Shihrur says. "The Katyusha rockets, including the long-range rockets, all together are making the Hezbollah like the spark that can light the whole situation."
Israel has spent nearly $300 million building a fence topped with razor wire and installing sophisticated security equipment along the entire Lebanese border.
Corporal Rafi Cohen and his fellow Israeli soldiers 16)patrol the area. Corporal Cohen says he does not fear Hezbollah, but says additional precautions are being taken since the Israeli soldiers were kidnapped. "There is always the 17)potential for kidnapping and we are briefed every day about what we are supposed to do and we train," Corporal Cohen said. "You know it is there, but that is what we are here for."
Analysts¹⁰ believe Hezbollah's guerrilla war against occupation, and Israel's 18)unilateral pullout, helped inspire the Palestinian uprising, which began last September.
Eyal Zisser, a leading 19)analyst on Syria and Lebanon, says the Israeli withdrawal projected an image of weakness in the Arab world. "Israel, under pressure, gives up. You can get what you want from Israel without giving it peace," Mr. Zisser says. "Indeed, in southern Lebanon for the first time since the establishment of Israel, Israel gave up Arab 20)territory without getting back anything in return. Of course there is a 21)linkage between what happened in southern Lebanon and what happened in the West Bank and Gaza."
Syria has about 30,000 troops in Lebanon, and is considered the major power broker¹¹ in the country.
In the past, Israel has retaliated for Hezbollah attacks by launching air strikes against Lebanese targets. Recently, Israel has begun hitting Syrian military targets inside Lebanon, a move 22)applauded by reserve Brigadier General Shlomo Brom.
"The most stupid thing for Israel to do as a result of Hezbollah action is to enter into a duel¹² with Hezbollah, in which they are shooting at us, we are shooting at them," General Brom says. "There will be gradually escalation¹³ that will lead to a situation in which the civilian¹⁴ population on both sides of the border will suffer. That is the reason that the government of Israel decided¹⁵, and I think justly so, to jump over Hezbollah and go directly to their 23)patron, namely Syria. In my opinion the most reasonable and effective reaction to Hezbollah actions is indeed to hurt the Syrians."
Meanwhile, Corporal Rafi Cohen, wearing the 24)skull cap of a religious Jew and carrying an automatic rifle, continues to patrol the border. He has no doubts about his 25)mission, or about who is Israel's enemy. "Hezbollah is here to kill me," the corporal says. "They are here to take my homeland and I am here to protect my homeland. I came here from the United States because I thought this is my homeland, and now I am here to protect it because Jews don't have anywhere else to go."
Occasionally, Hezbollah guerrillas come right up to the border fence and take pictures of the Israeli soldiers on the other side. So more than a year after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon, tension remains high here on the volatile border, and the 26)conflict is far from over.
 

(1) seal off v.把...封锁起来
(2) withdraw[wIT5drC:]vt.收回, 撤消vi.缩回, 退出v.撤退
(3) guerrilla[^E5rIlE]n.游击战, 游击队
(4) obtained v.获得
(5) perch[p:tF]n.栖木, 人所居的高位, 有利的地位v.(使)栖息, 就位, 位于
(6) panoramic[9pAnE`rAmIk,-`rB:-]adj.全景的
(7) fortified adj.加强的
(8) apparent[E5pArEnt]adj.显然的, 外观上的
(9) attrition[E5trIF(E)n]n.磨擦, 磨损
(10) occupation[RkjJ5peIF(E)n]n.职业, 占有, 占有(房屋等)期间
(11) pull out v.拔出, 离开, 度过难关, 恢复健康
(12) capture[5kAptFE(r)]n.捕获, 战利品vt.俘获, 捕获, 夺取
(13) clash[klAF]n.冲突, 撞击声, 抵触v. 猛撞, 冲突
(14) retaliate[rI5tAlIeIt]v.报复
(15) volatile[5vRlEtaIl; (?@) -tl]adj.挥发性的, 可变的, 不稳定的n. 挥发物
(16) patrol[pE5trEJl]v.出巡, 巡逻n.巡逻
(17) potential[pE5tenF(E)l]adj.潜在的, 可能的n.潜能, 潜力, 电压
(18) unilateral[ju:nI5lAtEr(E)l]adj.单方面, 单边的, 片面的, 单系
(19) analyst[5AnElIst]n.分析家, 分解者
(20) territory[5terItErI; (?@) -tC:rI]n.领土, 版图, 地域
(21) linkage[5lINkIdV]n.联接
(22) applaud[E5plC:d]v.拍手喝彩, 称赞, 赞同
(23) patron[5peItrEn]n.(对某人, 某种目标, 艺术等)赞助人, 资助人
(24) skullcap[5skQlkAp]n.无边便帽, 并头草属的植物
(25) mission[5mIF(E)n]n.使命, 任务, 使团, 代表团
(26) conflict[5kRnflIkt]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突

 

1 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

2 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。

3 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

4 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

5 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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。

8 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

9 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

12 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

13 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。