Violence, Political Turmoil Rock Gaza

 

By Ross Dunn

Political unrest and violence against the authority of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat continues to sweep through the Gaza Strip on Sunday. A group of armed Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip destroyed a police station, following mass demonstrations¹ in the territory against the nomination² of Mr. Arafat's relative, Mousa Arafat, as the new head of the Palestinian security forces.

Palestinian gunmen stormed an office of Mr. Arafat's Palestinian intelligence service on Sunday, opening fire on security guards, smashing furniture and burning down the one-story building.

The attack in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis was in protest at the appointment of Mr. Arafat's relative Mousa as chief of the Palestinian security forces.

The incident came following mass demonstrations in Gaza on Saturday and a series of kidnappings on Friday challenging Mr. Arafat's rule.

In an attempt to calm the situation, the embattled Palestinian President on Sunday met with Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, who offered his resignation over the violence in Gaza.

Palestinian Minister for Negotiations³ Saeb Erekat says Mr. Arafat has rejected the resignation, and has urged Mr. Qureia to stay on in his current post.

"We have a crisis. Abu Ala [Mr. Qureia] has informed us that he has submitted his resignation to Mr. Arafat. Deliberations are going on at all levels, and I hope we can exert every possible effort in order to deal with the problems facing our society," said Mr. Erekat. "We have witnessed a grave deterioration⁴ in Gaza Strip, lawlessness. And we hope that the rule of law will be maintained through a series of comprehensive steps taken by the Palestinian Authority."

The events in the Gaza Strip are also being observed in Israel with great interest.

Israel's justice minister, Yosef Lapid, blames Mr. Arafat for the turmoil⁵.

"The resignation of Abu Ala [Mr. Qureia] is only a symptom of the disastrous⁶ situation in the Palestinian territories, caused by Arafat," he said. "It is solely⁷ his fault. If he was not around, we could talk to Abu Ala and reach some arrangement that would be acceptable both to the Palestinians and the Israelis. As long as Arafat is there to disturb peace, and to prevent any sort of solution in this area, this will happen time and again."

Observers believe that Mr. Arafat will survive the current crisis, but acknowledge his authority is increasingly under challenge.

The international community has long been demanding that he give up control of the security forces. Observers say his decision to announce some changes on Saturday do not signify real any reform.

The security forces remain under the control of the Palestinian National Security Council, which is headed by Mr. Arafat.

Members of Mr. Arafat's Fatah faction⁸, who are behind the current violence, also point out that the president's decision to appoint a relative to head the security forces further reinforces the public's opinion that the Palestinian Authority is riddled⁹ with corruption¹⁰ and political cronyism¹¹.

Ross Dunn, VOA News, Jerusalem.

注释：
unrest 动荡的局面
nomination 任命
smash 打碎, 粉碎
embattled 被敌人围困的
resignation 辞职, 辞职书
submit 提交
witness 目击
deterioration 衰败
comprehensive 全面的
turmoil 骚动, 混乱
symptom 征兆
disastrous 灾难性的
solely 单独
Israeli 以色列人
cronyism 任用亲信

 

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 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。

4 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

8 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

9 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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。

11 cronyism   

n.任人唯亲，对好朋友的偏袒

参考例句：

• Many small town mayor and city official practice cronyism.许多小镇的市长和大城市的官员都有任人唯亲的行为。
• Bringing business people into politics can also produce corruption and cronyism.商人从政也容易带来腐败和任人唯亲。