VOA标准英语2010年-Arab Israelis Oppose Coming Under Pale

Settling the issue of borders is one of many contentious¹ issues facing Middle East peace negotiators

A land swap² between Israelis and Palestinians is one possible element of an eventual³ Middle East peace deal.  Right-wing members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition⁴ have been calling for a deal in which some Arab communities now inside Israel would be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, in exchange for some Jewish settlements in the West Bank becoming part of Israel.  The proposal is not getting widespread support on either side. 

A worker cuts a slab⁵ of Palestinian-style candy at the Jabarin family's candy factory in Umm al-Fahm, a town of more than 40,000 people in northern Israel.  Sales are brisk, with most of the product going to Jewish Israeli customers.

Ramez Jabarin works at the factory, which was founded by his father. He dreads⁶ the prospect⁷ of having his town and his family's factory turned over to Palestinian control.  Speaking in Hebrew, he says he fears that Israeli border restrictions⁸ would mean a loss of freedom.

"Big prison"

He says residents of the West Bank territory cannot go to neighboring Jordan in many cases and cannot freely go into Israel.  If Umm al-Fahm becomes part of the West Bank, he says he will live a completely different reality like a big prison.

Jabarin is a member of Israel's more than a million strong Arab minority.  His family was among the Palestinians who remained on their lands after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Being shut out of Israel and subjected to checkpoints would hurt business for Arabs like Jabarin and his family.

It would also mean diminishing their presence and influence in this land, where Arabs outnumbered Jews by two to one before 1948. Some Palestinians dream of getting all the land back one day.

Land swap

Israeli right wing politicians are pushing for a land swap partly out of concern that Arabs - who have a higher birth rate - may one day overwhelm the Jewish population.

Under such a deal, Israel would annex⁹ some West Bank Jewish settlements but also evacuate¹⁰ some of them.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has for years pushed for a swap.  He says he would be willing to evacuate his own home at the West Bank settlement of Nokdim, near Bethlehem, for a peace deal.

Nokdim residents like Itzik Cohen are not ready to follow. He says his place is here.  Cohen says past experience has shown that Israeli disengagement from the settlements will not be successful, and he says it will lead to nothing.  He hopes and believes he and his family will not have to move from the settlement. 

Some Arab Israelis complain of discrimination by the Jewish State, but still favor staying under Israeli rule because they have business opportunities in the country's strong economy, and access to education, health, and other welfare benefits that are available to all Israeli citizens.

At the Jabarin's candy factory, the owner, 70-year-old Mahmoud Jabarin, says it makes no difference to him whether a land swap takes place.  He has Israeli citizenship¹¹, but considers himself a Palestinian living on Palestinian land.

He says that if the Israelis listened to him, he would tell them that they would be exchanging Palestinian land for Palestinian land.

Settling the matter of borders is one of many points of contention¹² facing peace negotiators. 

For the people of Umm al-Fahm, the future looks as uncertain as ever.
 

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

2 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

3 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

4 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。

5 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

6 dreads   

n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 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。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

10 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

11 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

12 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。