Israeli Troops Begin Partial Withdrawal from Rafah

 

Sonja Pace

Israeli troops have begun a partial withdrawal¹ from parts of the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, where their operations this week have left at least 41 Palestinians dead, scores injured and hundreds more homeless.

Israeli troops, tanks and bulldozers pulled back from at least two neighborhoods of the Rafah camp early Friday - the Tel Sultan and Brazil areas. According to witnesses, they left behind dozens of demolished³ homes, torn up roads and sewer⁴ pipes, uprooted⁶ electricity lines and flattened⁷ cars.

Israeli military officials insist the soldiers are simply being redeployed, not withdrawn⁸. And they say the operation is not yet over.

Israeli forces launched their massive raid into the Rafah camp early Tuesday with the stated aim of flushing out Palestinian militants⁹ and shutting down tunnels they allegedly use for smuggling¹⁰ in weapons. The action came less than a week after 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

The demolition¹¹ of Palestinian homes and then the killing¹² Wednesday of at least eight Palestinian demonstrators, protesting the Israeli actions in Rafah, brought unusually harsh international criticism -- even from Israel's closest ally, the United States.

Since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence three-and-a-half years ago, Israel has made numerous forays into the southern Gaza Strip to try to shut down tunnels running into Gaza from neighboring Egypt. The Israeli military would like to widen the so-called Philadelphia road, which runs along the border, to boost security for its soldiers and make it harder for Palestinian militants to dig and maintain tunnels.

But widening the road would mean more demolition of Palestinian homes. U.S. officials say they've been assured by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israel would not demolish² any more houses or widen the road. Israeli Attorney General Menachim Mazuz has told the military to come up with a revised plan.

The recent surge in violence in Gaza has also boosted support within Israel for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to pull Israeli troops and settlements out of the Gaza Strip. Last Saturday, more than 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Tel Aviv to call for an Israeli withdrawal, and many demanded an immediate¹³ resumption of peace talks.

And, about 500 peace activists¹⁴ demonstrated Thursday for the second day in a row in front of the Defense¹⁵ Ministry¹⁶ in Tel Aviv to protest the current military operations and to call for a pullout from the Gaza Strip.
注释：
bulldozer [5buldEuzE] n. 推土机
sewer [5sjuE] n. 下水道
uproot⁵ [Qp5ru:t] vt. 连根拔起
redeploy [5ri:di5plCi] vt. 调防，重新部署
raid [reid] v. 奇袭，搜捕
clash [klAF] n. 冲突
numerous [5nju:mErEs] adj. 众多的，许多的
foray [5fCrei] n. 袭击
so-called adj. 所谓的，号称的
Philadelphia [7filE5delfjE] n. 费城（美国宾西法尼亚州东南部港市）
revised [ri5vaiz] adj. 修订的
surge [sE:dV] n. 动荡
resumption [ri5zQmpFEn] n. 恢复
Defense Ministry 国防部门

1 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。

2 demolish   

v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等)

参考例句：

• They're going to demolish that old building.他们将拆毁那座旧建筑物。
• He was helping to demolish an underground garage when part of the roof collapsed.他当时正在帮忙拆除一个地下汽车库，屋顶的一部份突然倒塌。

3 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

4 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

5 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

6 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

8 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

9 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。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。

16 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。