VOA标准英语2009年-Israeli Reports Say Major Prisoner Swa

Court papers indicate Jewish state could release 980 prisoners as part of the agreement

Luis Ramirez | Jerusalem 30 November 2009

"Everybody feels connected to Gilad and his parents, everybody in this country."

News reports in Israel are quoting court documents as saying the Israeli government could release nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in a possible exchange agreement between Israel and the militant¹ group Hamas.  The deal, if it goes through, would result in the release of an Israeli soldier captured by militants² in Gaza three years ago.

Israel wants Hamas to release Sergeant³ Gilad Shalit, a young soldier captured in a cross-border raid and taken to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip three years ago.

Noam Shalit, father of captive Israeli soldier Sgt. Gilad Schalit, sits next to a picture of his son on a chair at Shabbat dinner in a protest tent outside the Israeli prime minister's residence in Jerusalem 999 days after Schalit was captured by Palestinian militants in a 2006 cross-border raid, 20 Mar⁴ 2009

In exchange, Hamas wants hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released, including some who were responsible for terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Many people in Israel have come to see Gilad Shalit as a national hero.  His name, and young, thin face appear on banners, billboards⁵, and bumper⁶ stickers. 

The desire for his release is unanimous in Israel.

A U.S. born Israeli, Debbie Last, has been coming to hold vigil and gather signatures at a tent that is set up a few meters from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.

"Everybody has got a piece.  Everybody feels connected to Gilad and his parents, everybody in this country," Last said.

Israel's government has instituted a news blackout on the possible exchange, which is being mediated⁷ by Egypt and Germany.  Court papers this week, however, indicated the Jewish state could release 980 prisoners as part of the agreement.

Although the desire to see the young soldier free is unanimous, not everyone in Israel agrees that freeing convicted terrorists is the price to pay.

Relatives of those who died in terror attacks have petitioned the Israeli Supreme⁸ Court demanding the government release the names of those it plans to release.  For Israel, there is no guarantee that any of those who are freed will embrace non-violence.

Rojena Jinajira is a 23-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank community of Beituniya who was among 20 women that Israel freed in exchange for a video showing that Shalit was alive in September.   The video was aired in early October. 

Jinajira was imprisoned⁹ for trying to stab an Israeli soldier last year.  She says she is cynical¹⁰ of any peace effort.  For her, it is the use of force, like that of the kidnapping of Shalit, that in her view has brought results for the Palestinians.  She says the impending¹¹ release of prisoners is an example of this.

Jinajira says Palestinians spent years negotiating pursuing non-violence, and she says they achieved nothing.  She said that in her view, armed struggle does achieve something.  She points to the nearly 1,000 prisoners who will be released in exchange for one soldier.

She admires how an entire nation has stood behind one soldier and wishes the Palestinians would do the same for each of the thousands of Palestinians who are in Israeli prisons. 

Israeli news reports have speculated that among those who may be on the list of prisoners to be released is Marwan Barghouti, a prominent activist¹² serving life in prison for the murders of Israelis and widely favored as a candidate for the Palestinian presidency¹³.  In a recent prison cell interview, he ruled out negotiation¹⁴ as the only means of achieving peace and called for popular action.

Debbie Last, volunteering for Gilad Shalit's release, says she is not comfortable with the thought of setting convicted terrorists free.  But she says that to her, the life of one Israeli soldier is worth the risk.

"There are no words to describe the feeling of wanting to see this boy back home," Last said.

In this dilemma¹⁵, the best she and all of Israel can do is hope the only consequence of a prisoner exchange will be peace.

 

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 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。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

5 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

6 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

7 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

8 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。

9 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

10 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

11 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

14 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

15 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。