2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Releases Tax Payment to Palestinian

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
05 February 2006

Israel says it will release tax and customs payments to the Palestinian Authority. The payments were suspended last week, after the Islamic militant¹ group Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections. Israeli officials say the measure is temporary, and they will not release any further revenues to a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas.

-----------------------------------------------

Israeli officials suspended the customs and tax payments to the Palestinian Authority last week, saying they needed to complete a policy review of the current situation in the Palestinian territories, following the dramatic election victory by the Islamic militant organization Hamas.

Israel transfers millions of dollars of customs and tax revenue every month to the Palestinian Authority. Israeli officials were withholding² about $50 million, and Palestinian officials said that, as a result, they would not be able to pay an estimated $140,000 Palestinian civil servants. Israel's deputy defense³ minister, Zeev Boim, says Israel decided⁴ to transfer the money now, because Hamas has not yet joined the Palestinian government.

Boim says that, when Hamas joins or forms the next Palestinian government, Israel will suspend payments again. He says, Israel will not transfer any revenue to a Palestinian government headed by Hamas, unless Hamas renounces⁵ terrorism and recognizes Israel.

Hamas leaders have rejected the conditions, and say they will find other sources of revenue in the Arab world.

The funds Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority make up nearly half of the Palestinian Authority's estimated $116 million monthly budget.

Hamas leaders say they will go ahead and form a new government after the Palestinian Parliament opens on February 16. It is unclear if other Palestinian parties, such as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah Party, will join Hamas in any new government.

Western donors⁶, such as the United States and the European Union, also say they will not fund a Hamas government. Western donors provide the bulk of the Palestinian Authority's estimated $1-billion budget every year.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority attorney general told reporters that an internal corruption⁷ investigation⁸ indicates senior Palestinian officials may have stolen or squandered⁹ at least $700 million during the past several years.

Ahmed al-Moghani says an investigation into corruption has found 50 cases of financial and administrative¹⁰ corruption. He says 25 officials have been arrested, while 10 others have fled abroad. Among the examples uncovered was a fictitious¹¹ $6-million pipe factory, that was funded in part by $2 million of Italian aid money.

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 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 renounces   

v.声明放弃( renounce的第三人称单数 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores. 日本放弃对福尔摩沙（台湾）及澎湖的一切权利，主张（名称）及所有权。 来自互联网
• He renounces Christianity, temporarily straining his relationship with his parents. 他放弃了基督教信仰，从而与父母的关系暂时变得紧张。 来自互联网

6 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》

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

10 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。

11 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。