2006年VOA标准英语-Hamas Seeks Coalition Government

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
20 February 2006

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is holding talks with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on forming a new Palestinian government. The talks are taking place amid a new escalation¹ of violence in the West Bank, where Israeli troops killed a senior Palestinian militant².

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Ismail Haniyeh has five weeks to form a government after being named prime minister. The Gaza-Hamas leader is seen as a moderate with close ties to many members of Mr. Abbas' Fatah Party.

Hamas controls 74 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian parliament, and could govern on its own, but leaders of the Islamic militant group say they would prefer to form a coalition³ government that would include members of Fatah, a prospect⁴ Fatah has been rejecting.

Mr. Haniyeh's first task will be to figure out how to pay about 140,000 Palestinian civil servants, who face a cutoff of their salaries next month, after Israel's Cabinet voted Sunday to halt monthly tax and customs transfers to the Palestinian Authority.

The transfers average about $50 million a month and make up about half the Palestinian Authority's estimated $116 million monthly budget. In a news conference, Mr. Abbas called the Israeli decision devastating⁵.

Mr. Abbas says, in his meetings with Hamas leaders, he is keeping an open mind, and wants to hear from them directly about their plans for a future government.

International donors⁶ also say they will cut aid to the Palestinian Authority, unless Hamas agrees to recognize Israel and disarm⁷. Hamas has refused to do so. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and is responsible for many suicide bombings in Israel.

Violence has been escalating⁸ in recent days. Early Monday, Israeli troops shot and killed a senior commander of the militant group Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Nablus. The Israeli commander in charge of the operation told Israel Radio his forces caught the militants⁹ off guard.

The Israeli commander says the militant, Ahmed Abu Sharik, was involved in several attacks against Israeli soldiers, and had helped to plan a recent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. The commander says operations against Islamic Jihad militants will continue in the area for several more days.

Israeli troops killed four Palestinians in two different incidents Sunday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 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。

6 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

8 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

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。