VOA常速英语2007-Israel Reduces Fuel Supplies to Gaza

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
28 October 2007

Israel is tightening¹ sanctions on the Gaza Strip. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the move is casting a shadow over peace efforts.

Israel began cutting fuel supplies to Gaza in response to months of Palestinian rocket attacks.

"The Cabinet has already decreed the Gaza Strip a hostile territory. We will do what we can to stop this rocket fire," says Israeli spokeswoman Miri Eisen.

Israel has been gradually severing² ties with Gaza since the Islamic militant³ group Hamas seized control of the territory in a Palestinian civil war in June. Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction, routed the Fatah forces of President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads a more moderate government in the West Bank.

Israel has already restricted the flow of goods into Gaza, but this is the first time it has targeted vital energy supplies. Eisen says Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not completely pull the plug on Gaza.

"The prime minister confirmed Israel's commitment that there will not be a humanitarian⁴ crisis in Gaza," said Eisen.

As Israel seeks to isolate⁵ Hamas in Gaza, it is strengthening ties with the Abbas government in the West Bank. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are hammering out a document on Palestinian statehood to be presented at an international peace conference in the United States later this year.

But Fatah official Kadour al-Faris told Israel Radio that peace talks and sanctions do not go hand-in-hand.

Al-Faris said Israel is talking about peace while carrying out acts of war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. He described the fuel cuts as collective punishment.

1 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

2 severing   

v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The death of a second parent is like severing an umbilical cord to our past. 父母当中第二个人去世，就象斩断了把我们同过去联在一起的纽带。 来自辞典例句
• The severing theory and severing method for brittle block are studied. 研究裂纹技术应用于分离脆性块体的分离理论和分离方法。 来自互联网

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 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。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。