2006年VOA标准英语-Report Warns of Palestinian Economic Depre

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
16 March 2006
 
A new report from the World Bank warns that projected cuts in economic aid to Palestinians once the Islamic militant¹ group Hamas forms the next Palestinian government, could cause a deep economic depression in the Palestinian territories.

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Palestinians carry vegetables through a barricade² facing Israeli checkpoint in southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunnis (File photo)   
  

The World Bank report warns of a bleak³ economic future for Palestinians if international donors⁴ go through with plans to cut financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Nearly three-quarters of the estimated annual $1 billion budget of the Palestinian Authority is funded by international donors.

Most international donors have said they will no longer be able to make direct disbursements to a Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority because of the group's refusal to recognize Israel and disarm⁵. Israel also says it is halting the transfer of about $50 million a month in customs and tax revenue it collects and disburses⁶ to the Palestinian Authority, because it says Hamas will be able to control the money.

As a result the World Bank warns personal incomes in the Palestinian territories could drop by as much as 30 percent this year. Unemployment could double to nearly 40 percent, and the Palestinian economy could shrink by nearly 30 percent. Nasr Abdul Karim a professor of economics at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank city of Ramallah says if all of the projected cuts go through, the economic effects will be devastating⁷.

"Then, the Palestinian treasury⁸ will be in deep problems because the deficit⁹ will rise almost 80 percent of the budget and that will be very high," he said. "So the Palestinian Authority will be hit the most. And 150,000 staff employees with the PA., because it is the largest employer here in Palestine, will be left without regular income, and that has a lot of political and social consequences here."

International donors and Israel say, while direct disbursements of funds to the Palestinian Authority could stop once Hamas takes office, humanitarian¹⁰ aid will continue to Palestinians through non-governmental organizations.

Samir Abdullah is the director of the independent Economic Studies Institute in Ramallah. He says funding humanitarian aid projects will not fill the gap left by cutting funding to the Palestinian Authority.

"If you take the basic services to the public, more than 80 percent from education is public, governmental actually and more than 50 percent of the health services are governmental. And of course if you take the 150,000 employees who represent about 25 percent of the labor¹¹ force, they are government employees," said Abdullah. "Most of these people are really living from their income. The governmental budget provides a lifeline to keep the economy going."

Hamas leaders say they are seeking alternate sources of funding in the Muslim world, in countries like Iran. However so far there is no indication that funding has been found to make up a projected budget shortfall that the World Bank warns could cripple the Palestinian economy and result in social chaos¹².

1 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。

2 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

3 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

4 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》

5 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。

6 disburses   

v.支出，付出( disburse的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Upon SBA approval, the lending institution closes the loan and disburses the funds. 收到SBA的认可之后，放贷机构就会关闭此放贷申请并支付贷款。 来自互联网

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 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。