Annan Urges Israel to Stop Demolishing Palestinian Homes

 

Peter Heinlein
 
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is urging Israel to stop bulldozing Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip.

As Israeli troops backed by tanks and bulldozers converged¹ on the Palestinian town of Rafah Monday, Secretary General Annan pleaded for a halt to their threatened demolition². "I appeal to Israel to stop this destruction, which is against international humanitarian³ law."

Mr. Annan noted⁴ that he and the acting⁵ U.N. High Commissioner⁶ for Refugees had condemned⁷ the demolition of homes in Rafah in separate statements last Friday, after reports that Israeli troops had bulldozed 130 buildings. "I'm really distressed⁸ that the destruction of houses continues. It really is causing very difficult and painful situations for the people of Palestine."

Israel announced the Gaza military operation Sunday, including plans to destroy as many as 200 homes.

Israel's Supreme⁹ Court lifted a temporary ban on demolition of homes around Rafah and an adjacent refugee camp. Israel said it must have a wider buffer¹⁰ zone along the border to stop arms smuggling¹¹ and attacks by militants¹².

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees says more than 12-thousand Rafah residents have been made homeless since the uprising - or Intifada - began in 2000.

Israel began the latest Rafah operation after ambushes¹⁴ that killed 12 Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Israeli army said it planned to destroy buildings that could serve as terrorist hideouts, and said it may also dig a deep moat to prevent Palestinians from digging tunnels to smuggle¹⁵ arms.

注释:
U.N. Secretary General 联合国秘书长
Kofi Annan 柯非安南
bulldoze [5buldEuz] v. 毁坏
Gaza Strip 加沙地带，也称加沙走廊
back [bAk] v. 支持
Rafah 拉法，加萨南部的难民区
plead [pli:d] vt. 请求
demolition [7demE5liFEn] n. 破坏活动
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees 联合国难民事务高级专员署
distressed [di5strest] adj. 悲痛的
Supreme Court 最高法院
adjacent [E5dVeisEnt] adj. 相邻的
buffer zone 缓冲区
U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees 联合国巴勒斯坦难民救济和工程局
Intifada 阿克萨起义，出自于阿拉伯文"起义"一词的谐音
ambush¹³ [5AmbuF] n. 伏击
hideout n. 隐匿处
moat [mEut] n. 城壕

1 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 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。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 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。

11 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

12 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。

13 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

14 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网

15 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。