2023年经济学人 以色列的经济武器(2)

 

    Another organisation¹ on which Gazans depend is Hamas, whose administrative² branch runs the strip’s government.

    加沙人依赖的另一个组织是哈马斯，哈马斯的行政部门管理着加沙地带的政府。

    Since it took power, Hamas has expanded the public payroll³ from roughly 20,000 to 50,000 civil servants.

    自上台以来，哈马斯已经将公共雇员的人数从大约2万人扩大到5万人。

    Last year its spending contributed 0.8% to GDP growth, compared with 0.3% from all household and business spending.

    去年，哈马斯的支出对GDP增长的贡献率为0.8%，而所有家庭和企业支出的贡献率为0.3%。

    As charities run so many of the strip’s schools and hospitals, and the PA keeps the lights on, Hamas is able to spend lavishly⁴ elsewhere.

    由于慈善机构经营着加沙地带的许多学校和医院，巴勒斯坦民族权力机构支付电费，哈马斯便能够在其他地方有阔绰的支出。

    It finances its spending with an adroit⁵ tax system.

    哈马斯通过灵活的税收制度为其支出提供资金。

    Though Gaza gets no imports from Israel, it does get them from Egypt, from which trade had recently increased, and the West Bank.

    虽然加沙没有从以色列进口货物，但从埃及和约旦河西岸有进口贸易，埃及的贸易最近有所增加。

    Hamas taxes food and fuel crossing the Egyptian border; picks up 16.5% of the value of products from baby food to jeans; charges three shekels ($0.75) per kilo of fish caught by fishermen; and levies⁶ income tax.

    哈马斯对通过埃及边境进口的食品和燃料征税，对婴儿食品和牛仔裤等产品收取其价值的16.5%的税款，对渔民捕捞的鱼每公斤收取3谢克尔(0.75美元)的税款，并征收个人所得税。

    Altogether economists⁷ reckon that Hamas may take in somewhere in the region of 1.5bn shekels a year.

    经济学家估计，哈马斯在加沙一年的收入可能在15亿谢克尔左右。

    Other sources of finance are already in Israel’s sights.

    其他资金来源已经在以色列的监控之内。

    Gaza’s various Islamist groups receive maybe $100m a year from Iran, according to America’s best guess.

    根据美国的猜测，加沙的各种伊斯兰组织每年可能从伊朗获得1亿美元。

    Hamas also receives individual donations from the Gulf⁸ and the West, some of which are furtively⁹ transferred across borders using cryptocurrencies.

    哈马斯还接受来自波斯湾和西方国家的个人捐款，其中一些捐款是用加密货币进行秘密跨境转移的。

    Israel and its allies have already come down hard on these sources of finance where possible, freezing accounts in Istanbul and London.

    以色列及其盟友已经尽力严厉打击了这些资金来源，冻结了在伊斯坦布尔和伦敦的一些账户。

    Will aid to Gaza end up strengthening the position of Hamas?

    对加沙的援助最终会强化哈马斯的地位吗？

    In the past, Israel has been wary¹⁰ of multilateral organisations working in the strip.

    过去，以色列一直对在加沙地带的多边组织持谨慎态度。

    Other governments have found that links between charities and Hamas are rare, however.

    然而，其他国家的政府发现，慈善机构和哈马斯之间的联系很少。

    In Gaza, few believe rumours¹¹ that Hamas taxes aid.

    在加沙，几乎没有人相信哈马斯对援助物资征税的传言。

    So grim is the situation that “a few bits of fuel getting lost is worth it”, argues the boss of a think-tank in Gaza.

    加沙的一个智囊团的老板认为，形势如此严峻，（只要能输送物资）就算“被刮去些油水也是值得的”。

    Israeli policymakers also face dilemmas¹² in the West Bank.

    以色列政策制定者在约旦河西岸也面临两难境地。

    Just a few thousand Gazans work in Israel; in contrast, a quarter of the West Bank’s labour force works over the border or in Jewish settlements.

    只有几千加沙人在以色列工作，相比之下，约旦河西岸四分之一的劳动力在边境或犹太人定居点工作。

    Israel does allow exports and imports through the West Bank—the duties on which make up around two-thirds of the PA’s budget.

    以色列确实允许通过约旦河西岸进出口货物，这项关税占巴勒斯坦民族权力机构预算的三分之二左右。

    These taxes are collected by Israel and occasionally held up for months at a time before being transferred.

    这些税收由以色列代征收，有时一次被扣留几个月后再转给巴勒斯坦民族权力机构。

    Some Israeli officials reportedly want to cut such payments, either to redirect money towards Gazan reconstruction¹³ or in the hopes of stopping payments to Gazan families.

    据报道，一些以色列官员想要削减这种转移支付，目的是将这笔资金重新导向加沙重建，或者是希望停止向加沙家庭支付款项。

    Other Israeli officials insist that the PA needs more, not less, funding in order to keep a fragile peace.

    其他以色列官员坚持认为，巴勒斯坦民族权力机构需要更多而不是更少的资金，以维持脆弱的和平。

    In some ways, the choices facing Israeli politicians are exaggerated versions of ones that they have faced in the past.

    在某些方面，以色列政治人士现在面临的选择是他们曾经面临的相似选择的放大版本。

    When Israel wanted to contain Hamas, it made no sense to help the group collect taxes.

    之前当以色列想要遏制哈马斯时，帮助该组织征税就是毫无道理的。

    Now that Israel wants to destroy Hamas, it makes no sense in military terms to allow supplies into Gaza.

    现在以色列想要摧毁哈马斯，从军事上讲，允许向加沙提供物资也是毫无道理的。

    Yet if it restricts the flow of supplies even more harshly, a humanitarian¹⁴ disaster will ensue.

    但如果以色列更严格地限制物资流动，一场人道主义灾难将接踵而至。

    On October 17th Gaza’s health ministry¹⁵ begged for generators¹⁶.

    10月17日，加沙卫生部恳求提供一些发电机。

    Without them, it said, hospitals were about to shut down.

    卫生部说，如果没有发动机，许多医院将会关闭。

1 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

2 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

3 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

4 lavishly   

adv.慷慨地，大方地

参考例句：

• His house was lavishly adorned.他的屋子装饰得很华丽。
• The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour.这本书里有大量全彩插图。

5 adroit   

adj.熟练的，灵巧的

参考例句：

• Jamie was adroit at flattering others.杰米很会拍马屁。
• His adroit replies to hecklers won him many followers.他对质问者的机敏应答使他赢得了很多追随者。

6 levies   

（部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队

参考例句：

• At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时，苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
• Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 furtively   

adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地

参考例句：

• At this some of the others furtively exchanged significant glances. 听他这样说，有几个人心照不宣地彼此对望了一眼。
• Remembering my presence, he furtively dropped it under his chair. 后来想起我在，他便偷偷地把书丢在椅子下。

10 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

11 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

12 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

13 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

14 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。

15 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。

16 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》