2006年VOA标准英语-Palestinians Hold Mass Funeral for Victims of I

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
09 November 2006

Mourners carry  bodies of 18 Palestinians during funeral in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday Nov. 9, 2006

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have taken part in a mass funeral for 18 victims of an Israeli artillery¹ attack Wednesday in the Gaza Strip.  Israel is on high alert as Palestinians threaten retaliation² for the incident. 

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There was no violence at the funeral, but plenty of anger as the victims of Wednesday's shelling incident - mostly women and children belonging to the same extended family - were buried in a mass funeral.  Israel has apologized for the incident in which artillery fire that Israel says was responding to Palestinian rocket attacks hit several buildings in the town of Beit Hanoun. 

Some Palestinian militant³ groups are threatening to resume suicide bombings in Israel in retaliation for the incident.  Israel's Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter says the country is on high alert.

Dichter says the incident is regrettable, but Palestinian leaders need to do more to stop the rocket attacks against Israel.  Israel says it will continue military activities in Gaza to stop the attacks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel risks destroying any remaining chance for peace with its actions in Gaza. But, he is also criticizing Palestinian militants⁴ for firing the rockets, saying their actions invited Israeli reprisals⁵. 

Hamas leaders criticized the remarks by Mr. Abbas saying Israel, and not Palestinians, were responsible for the violence in Gaza.  Mr. Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a leading Hamas militant, have continued meetings aimed at forming a coalition⁶ or unity⁷ government not headed by Hamas.

Hamas is regarded as a terrorist group by much of the international community, which has suspended donor⁸ aid to the Palestinians because of the Hamas refusal to recognize Israel.  Palestinians hope a unity government, not led by Hamas might get the aid flowing again.  

Hamas leaders appear to be disagreeing over how to respond to Wednesday's shelling incident.  Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, regarded as an extreme hard liner, issued a call Wednesday for Muslims around the world to attack U.S. interests - a call disavowed by Hamas leaders in Gaza. 

Hamas leaders in Gaza have also not publicly supported Meshaal's call to resume suicide bombings in Israel, which Hamas suspended last year.  

1 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

2 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 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。

5 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。