2006年VOA标准英语-Palestinian Gunmen Assassinate Hamas-Affiliated

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
13 December 2006

A judge is the latest victim of Palestinian factional fighting in the Gaza Strip. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, there is growing concern among Palestinians that the situation is spinning out of control.

Palestinians carry body of Bassam al-Farra during his funeral in Khan Yunis, 13 Dec 2006

Palestinian gunmen ambushed³ a judge from the ruling Islamic militant⁴ group Hamas as he arrived at a courthouse in Gaza. Witnesses say Bassam al-Fara was dragged from a taxi and shot dead. Al-Fara was also a senior commander of the Hamas military wing.

Hamas blamed the rival Fatah faction¹ for killing⁵ the judge and promised revenge.

It was the latest in a wave of attacks between the two groups that has raised fears of a Palestinian civil war. The ambush² came two days after the targeted killing of three young children of a commander from Fatah who was seen as an enemy of Hamas.

The violence is part of a deepening struggle between moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas-led government.

Palestinian analyst⁶ Bassam Eid says the people are fed up with both of them and with the lawlessness on the streets.

"I think that most of the Palestinians now becomes much more hopeless, much more pessimistic towards the government, towards the Palestinian President, in term to put an end for such a huge chaos," said Eid.

Following the attack on the judge, more than a thousand Fatah police and gunmen blocked roads and fired in the air.

They marched to the office of President Abbas, demanding that he sack the Hamas government over the collapse⁷ of law and order. 

1 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

2 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

3 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。