Israel's Parliament Approves Plan to Dismantle Jewish Settle

By Larry James

When the votes were counted Mr. Sharon had the victory he had sought, with 67 votes for, 45 against and seven abstentions. The Knesset has 120 members but one was absent due to illness.
 
There were some tense moments when five cabinet ministers walked out before their names could be called for the vote.  Only when the members were polled a second time did the five, led by Finance Minister Benyamin Netanyahu cast their votes in favor of the plan.  But the ministers said they would resign from their posts if Mr. Sharon does not hold a national referendum on the disengagement plan within 14 days.
 
Nearly half of 40 lawmakers from Mr. Sharon's Likud party voted against the plan, and two religious parties the prime minister had courted to be part of a new coalition¹ government, cast their votes against it.
 
Opponents of the plan failed in a last minute maneuver² to derail the vote.  The National Religious Party threatened to quit the government within two weeks if Mr. Sharon did not agree to hold a national referendum in the coming months.
 
The prime minister has rejected demands for a referendum, which is seen as a stalling tactic³ to give opponents of the pullout more time to organize support for their position.  Nationwide polls show a majority of Israelis favor a withdrawal⁴.
 
The National Religious Party had been expected to oppose the plan anyway, but their announcement may have encouraged other members of Mr. Sharon's Likud Party to vote against the plan.
 
The withdrawal plan has bitterly divided Israel, and saw the transformation⁵ of Mr. Sharon from the settlers' biggest proponent⁶ to their most powerful political enemy.  As recently as early 2003, Mr. Sharon called the Gaza settlements an essential part of Israel. But after four years of devastating⁷ violence in the region, Mr. Sharon changed course saying the continued occupation of Gaza, where some 8000 Jewish settlers live amid 1.3 million Palestinians, is untenable.
 
Tuesday's vote is only the first of several required before the plan can be implemented⁸ next year but it marks the first time parliament has approved the dismantling⁹ of Jewish settlements in Gaza or the West Bank.
 
Mr. Sharon says his plan will boost Israel's security. He also believes it will blunt international criticism of Israel. Palestinians say it will strengthen Israel's hold over large parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands Palestinians claim for a future state.

Larry James, VOA News, Jerusalem.
注释：
dismantle 拆除
abstention 缺席, 弃权
Knesset (以色列)议会
cabinet minister 内阁大臣
in favor of 赞同
referendum公民投票
disengagement 脱离
Likud party利库德党(以色列右翼党派的政治联盟,长期为以色列执政党)
derail 行为出轨
tactic 策略
pullout 撤退
untenable不能维持的, 支持不住的
implement执行
boost 推进
hold over 拖延；延期

1 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。

2 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

3 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

4 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。

5 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

6 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。