IN THE NEWS - Israel Gets Ready to Withdraw from Gaza

IN THE NEWS - Israel Gets Ready to Withdraw from Gaza
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, August 13, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Gaza is a small area on the Mediterranean¹ coast. It is long but narrow. Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the nineteen sixty-seven war. It also captured the West Bank from Jordan. The war lasted six days. It began when Arab countries attacked Israel.

 
 

More than one millon Palestinians live in Gaza,so do around 8,500 Jewish settlers . Next week the Israeli government wants them to leave their twenty-one settle lands.

Thousands of Israeli troops and police will help the settlers move out. After Wednesday, the troops will use force to remove any who stay. Soldiers will destroy all of the houses. The Palestinians want to build their own.

However, on Friday, an Israeli economic cooperation group announced a deal. Officials say the settlers agreed to sell most of the structures in which they grew plants on their farms. American special representative James Wolfensohn collected about fourteen million dollars to buy the greenhouses for the Palestinians. He is the former president of the World Bank.

Conservative and religious political parties in Israel oppose the withdrawal² from Gaza. Opponents say Israel will not be any safer from attacks. Earlier this month, Benjamin Netanyahu resigned as finance minister in protest. Opponents say the land is part of what they call Greater Israel. They say God promised it to the Jews. Yet public opinion research shows that sixty percent of the people in Israel support the withdrawal.

Under the plan, the Palestinian National Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas will govern the territory. A special force trained by Egypt is to keep order. Officials say the biggest change will be the end to the travel restrictions³ in occupied Gaza. But Israel will continue to control the border, coast and air space.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced the withdrawal plan in December of two thousand three. He said it would strengthen Israeli security, ease the responsibilities of the Israeli Defense⁴ Forces and reduce tensions with the Palestinians. But Israelis says real peace negotiations⁵ can begin only when Palestinian officials disarm⁶ groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Palestinians hope for an independent nation with Jerusalem as the capital. Yet many see the Gaza withdrawal only as a way for Israel to increase control of the West Bank. The West Bank has two hundred forty thousand Israeli settlers and more than two million Arabs.

Four small settlements in the West Bank are to be removed under the withdrawal plan. Prime Minister Sharon says the major ones will stay. But he suggested in comments reported Friday that more settlers could leave in the future.

In Gaza City on Friday, Palestinian officials held a big celebration of the withdrawal just days away.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 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。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 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。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。