Arafat Rejects Israeli Gaza Pullout Plan

 

 

Ross Dunn

 

Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials alike debated the results of the Bush-Sharon summit. The main assessment¹ from the Palestinian side is that Mr. Bush has shown favoritism toward Israel by legitimizing Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

 

The Palestinian leadership also said that Mr. Bush has come out against the right of Palestinian refugees to return to areas that are now part of Israel.

In what many saw as a defiant² response to the summit, Mr. Arafat said the Palestinians would never abandon the claims of their refugees, nor make more territorial³ concessions⁵.

 

He said that in the long run Palestinians will win their right to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and it will be the Israelis who have to retreat.

 

"All the suffering of the Palestinian people, the power, the aggression⁶ and the Israeli assassinations⁸ and the siege, and the collective punishment - all of this is going to push us to stand firm and unify⁹ against the Israeli occupiers and force them and their settlers to leave our land forever," he said.

 

There is also some anger on the Israeli side following the summit. Jewish settlers are stepping up their own campaign to try to stop Mr. Sharon from removing them from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

 

At the same time, Mr. Bush's endorsement¹⁰ of the plan has won Mr. Sharon more supporters, among them the Israeli immigration minister, Tzipi Livni.

 

"This is something which we believe was essential for Israel," she said. "It was important for me that President Bush would make this kind of statement."

 

Ms. Livni is a member of Mr. Sharon's ruling Likud party, which is set to hold a referendum in early May on the prime minister's plan for disengagement from the Palestinian areas. Mr. Sharon needs to win the referendum to help get the approval of his cabinet and the parliament for his plan.

 

Israeli [iz5reili] adj. 以色列共和国的

Palestinian [7pAlis5tiniEn] adj. 巴勒斯坦的

favoritism [5feivEritizEm] n. 偏袒

legitimize [l i5dViti7maiz] v. 宣布合法化

Israel [5izreiEl] n.（地名）以色列，地中海西海岸

defiant [di5faiEnt] adj. 挑战的，挑衅的

abandon [E5bAndEn] vt. 放弃

concession⁴ [kEn5seFEn] n. 让步

Jerusalem [dVe5ru:sElEm] n. 耶路撒冷（巴勒斯坦著名古城）

assassination⁷ [E7sAsi5neiFEn] n. 暗杀

siege [si:dV] n. 不断袭击，围攻

Gaza Strip  加沙地区，西南亚地中海岸港市，巴勒斯坦的一部分

West Bank （约旦河）西岸

endorsement [in5dC:smEnt] n. 认可

immigration [7imi5^reiFEn] n. 外来的移民，移居入境

referendum [7refE5rendEm] n. 公民投票

disengagement [5disin5^eidVmEnt] n. 脱离

cabinet [5kAbinit] n. 内阁

parliament [5pB:lEmEnt] n. 国会，议会

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

3 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

4 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

9 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

10 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。