Israeli Troops Withdraw from Key Neighborhood of Rafah Refug

 

Sonja Pace

Israeli troops have withdrawn¹ from one key neighborhood of the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, lifting a six-day siege and allowing residents out of their homes to again move about freely. Some Israeli troops remain deployed² in other parts of southern Gaza.

The Israeli military says its withdrawal³ and the easing of its closure around Rafah is part of an overall redeployment, but is also designed to ease conditions for Palestinians living there. As Palestinians ventured out of their homes freely for the first time in six days, most went in search of water, food, and other basic supplies.

Palestinians say Israeli troops have not only demolished⁴ dozens of homes in Rafah, but also have destroyed power lines, torn up streets and sewage pipes and flattened⁵ cars during their week-long incursion.

Residents of the Brazil neighborhood also accused soldiers of destroying their small zoo. They say soldiers set some of the animals free and killed others. The military insists the soldiers did their best to protect the animals as they moved through the area.

Some residents recounted how their families had been in their houses while Israeli bulldozers began knocking down walls. Others told of seeing their fields, hothouses, and crops destroyed by the military.

The military says the incursion was necessary to flush out Palestinian militants⁶ and to stop the flow of weapons being smuggled⁷ into Gaza through underground tunnels from neighboring Egypt. While only a few tunnels were uncovered and more than 40 Palestinians were killed and scores more injured in the weeklong operation.

The incursion also sparked widespread international criticism, including from the United States, and prompted sharp criticism from within Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's own cabinet.

At the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday, Justice Minister Josef Lapid said images of an elderly Palestinian woman searching through the rubble⁸ of what had once been her house reminded him of his grandmother.

Mr. Lapid is a survivor⁹ of the holocaust¹⁰ and his comments sparked outrage¹¹ from other ministers who accused him of implying that the military's actions in Gaza were comparable to the actions of the Nazis¹². Mr. Lapid insisted he was making no such comparison, but he said the demolition¹³ of Palestinian homes must stop. He said it is not humane¹⁴ and against Jewish values.

The Gaza encouraging concealment¹⁵ continued insistence¹⁶ by Prime Minister Sharon that he will go ahead with his plan to withdraw Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip along with the soldiers that protect them.

Mr. Sharon's original plan was voted down by members of his Likud party. The prime minister now says he will present a revised plan to his cabinet for debate and possible approval next Sunday.

Israeli media report that revised plan is likely to include a phased withdrawal from Gaza, to begin with the initial removal of only three, isolated¹⁷ settlements.

注释：
siege [si:dV] n. 不断袭击，围攻
redeployment [5ri:di5plCiment] n. 遣调
sewage [5sju(:)idV] n. 下水道
resident [5rezidEnt] n. 居民
recount [ri5kaunt] v. 叙述
hothouse [5hCthaus] n. 温室
weeklong [5wi:klCN] adj. 为时一周的
rubble [5rQbl] n. 碎石
survivor [sE5vaivE] n. 生还者
holocaust [5hClEkC:st] n. 大屠杀
outrage [5autreidV] n. 愤怒
humane [hju:5mein] adj. 仁慈的
Likud [li:5kU:d] n. 利库德集团（以色列右翼党派的政治联盟）

1 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。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

10 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

11 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

12 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

15 concealment   

n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒

参考例句：

• the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
• Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。

16 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

17 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。