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(单词翻译)
By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
10 June 2006
Mahmoud Abbas during a press conference at his headquarters in Ramallah, June 10, 2006
Moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called a referendum on a two-state solution, in a major challenge to the new government, led by the Islamic militant1 group Hamas. The announcement came after Hamas ended a truce2 with Israel.
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President Abbas threw down the gauntlet to Hamas, by calling a referendum on the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. That implies recognition of Israel, and Mr. Abbas hopes that, if the referendum is approved, it would help end the isolation3 of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Hamas is flat broke and unable to pay 165,000 government employees in the wake of international sanctions. The United States and European Union have cut off hundreds-of-millions of dollars in aid, because Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction, refuses to renounce4 violence and recognize the Jewish state.
Hamas declared the referendum illegal, and warned that it could exacerbate5 tensions that have raised fears of a Palestinian civil war. Hamas militiamen and security forces from Mr. Abbas' Fatah faction6 have fought gun battles over the past several weeks that have left at least 17 people dead.
The referendum is based on a document drawn7 up by senior Palestinian prisoners from Hamas, Fatah and other factions8 who are serving time in Israeli jails.
Mr. Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, said the vote will take place July 26. One of his close aides, Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat, says it is time for the people to decide.
"We must stop the deterioration9 today, through democratic means. And this is what we're trying to achieve, and this is a very, very bold, courageous10 step that Abu Mazen took today," he said.
While Palestinian internal tensions are escalating11, so is the conflict with Israel. The Hamas military wing declared an end to the 16-month-old truce, and fired rockets into Israel, after seven Palestinian civilians12 were killed in an Israeli artillery13 strike on Friday. The Israeli army says it was targeting rocket-launching sites, and that one shell apparently14 went astray and hit a family picnicking on a Gaza beach.
Israel expressed regret, but Hamas vowed15 that more attacks are coming.
1 militant | |
adj.激进的,好斗的;n.激进分子,斗士 | |
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2 truce | |
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束 | |
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3 isolation | |
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离 | |
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4 renounce | |
v.放弃;拒绝承认,宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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5 exacerbate | |
v.恶化,增剧,激怒,使加剧 | |
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6 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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7 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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8 factions | |
组织中的小派别,派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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9 deterioration | |
n.退化;恶化;变坏 | |
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10 courageous | |
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的 | |
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11 escalating | |
v.(使)逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 );(使)逐步扩大;(使)更高;(使)更大 | |
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12 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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13 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
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14 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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15 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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