Unrest at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound puts pressure on Bennett and Abbas

Unrest at the Al-Aqsa Mosque¹ compound puts pressure on Bennett and Abbas

Transcript²

The recent violence at the most sensitive site in Jerusalem puts Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in difficult positions.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How has unrest in Jerusalem affected³ Israeli and Palestinian leaders? The unrest came at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, an area controlled by Israel and holy to both Muslims and Jews. The Israeli prime minister is Naftali Bennett. The Palestinian president is Mahmoud Abbas. Both face pressure to stand up for their side. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

PETER KENYON, BYLINE⁴: The images from the most sensitive site in Jerusalem set the region on edge. Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, responding to Palestinians who were gathering⁵ or throwing stones. Medics said more than 150 Palestinians were injured. Israel said it arrested hundreds. Then came the ripple⁶ effects - rockets fired at Israel from militants⁷ in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes struck targets in central Gaza. The unrest doesn't seem to be spiraling out of control yet, but it is causing political dilemmas⁸ for leaders on both sides, especially in Israel. One response came in the Israeli Parliament when a political party led by Palestinian citizens of Israel suspended its alliance with the coalition⁹ of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. I met Israeli political analyst¹⁰ Dahlia Scheindlin in Tel Aviv. She said doubts about the government's future are growing.

DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN: Everybody thought it was one tiny step closer to a very big possibility of coalition collapse¹¹.

KENYON: If the Al-Aqsa crisis did damage Bennett, one big beneficiary could be opposition¹² leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longtime former leader now on trial for corruption¹³. Scheindlin says if elections are called, Netanyahu's party would likely do well. But he could still face problems putting together a coalition.

SCHEINDLIN: He will have to find all sorts of partners to go in with him. And there is always the same problem - as long as Netanyahu is standing¹⁴ trial, there are parties who will not sit with him or under him as the head of the government.

KENYON: Other analysts¹⁵ agree that low public regard for leaders in Jerusalem has been placed front and center by the events at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, says Israel's leaders urgently need calm to give themselves time to recover.

YOHANAN PLESNER: So as long as religious emotions continue to be evoked¹⁶ from the Temple Mount, it will be very difficult to stabilize¹⁷ the coalition. But if things calm down, I think it will become sort of a short episode in the coalition's ride.

KENYON: But Plesner also says he hopes the Arab party that suspended its role in the coalition, the Ra'am Party, is able to return to government because he wouldn't like to see an end to what he calls this important experiment.

PLESNER: Bringing the Arab parties into the Israeli coalition-making game is a game-changer in Israeli politics. It pretty much brings back the center-left parties into the political game.

KENYON: As for the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, observers say both have had to face public outrage¹⁸ and the perception that the extremists of Hamas are leading the fight against Israel. Former PA official Riad Jeraie (ph) says anger at Abbas is running strong. He was told a close aide to Abbas was recently prevented from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque by worshippers angry at the apparent impotence of their president.

RIAD JERAIE: People understood that he can't do anything to deter¹⁹ Israel from committing violence in Al-Aqsa Mosque or in the church in Jerusalem.

KENYON: But Jeraie says people also believe that Abbas has no real political channel to Israeli leaders these days. So while they're disappointed in their president, they also have low expectations for what's possible. One question is whether some could seek out more extreme solutions. Some of the protesters at Al-Aqsa were carrying Hamas flags.

Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Jerusalem.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 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。

8 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 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。

16 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

17 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

18 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。

19 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。