2007年VOA标准英语-Palestinian President Declares State of Emergen

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
14 June 2007

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas late Thursday dismissed the three-month-old Palestinian unity¹ government and declared a state of emergency as Hamas militants² consolidated³ their control over the Gaza Strip. More than 100 people have died since violence erupted between Mr. Abbas' Fatah faction⁴ and Hamas several days ago. VOA's Jim Teeple has more from our Jerusalem bureau.

Mahmoud Abbas, 14 Jun 2007

After nearly a week of escalating⁵ violence that has seen Hamas Islamic militants seize control of much of the Gaza Strip, President Abbas issued decrees late Thursday abolishing the Palestinian unity government and dismissing Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas.

Presidential Secretary Tayeb Abdel Rahim read out the decrees at the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Abdel Rahim said Mr. Abbas is declaring a state of emergency across the Palestinian territories because some Palestinian groups are engaging in crimes and acting⁶ outside the law. He said Mr. Abbas will form a new government, and is also considering holding new elections.

A spokesman for Hamas called Mr. Abbas' move "practically worthless," and it is unclear what effect the decrees will have on the violence raging in the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants have seized control of the Fatah-run Intelligence services building and the headquarters of the Fatah Preventive Security Force, where witnesses say the militants executed several Fatah officials after they had surrendered.

Fatah retaliated⁷ in the West Bank, where Hamas is much weaker, by rounding up a number of Hamas militants.

Close aides to Mr. Abbas such as Yasser Abed Rabo, the deputy head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which is allied⁸ with Fatah, warned that if Hamas does take complete control of Gaza, Palestinian democracy will suffer.

"What they are doing now is they are trying to solidify⁹ their grip over Gaza by all means, including military means," he said. "They do not believe in the democratic process where you can change the government every four years. They believe it is a divine mission granted to them, and they should seize the opportunity."

Since fighting dramatically escalated¹⁰ on Wednesday, Fatah forces have been routed by more disciplined Hamas militants. Reporter Mohammed Dawass in Gaza says unlike Hamas, Fatah was unprepared for all-out conflict.

"They [Fatah] were not really preparing themselves like Hamas did," he said. "Hamas has been preparing itself for a long time. Especially after the Israeli withdrawal¹¹ from the Gaza Strip, they [Hamas] managed to get weapons from across the borders. Fatah did not really expect this to happen actually."

If Hamas does take complete control of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territories will be effectively split between Hamas and Fatah, which largely controls the West Bank. Israeli officials are expressing concern over the developments in Gaza, saying they might soon be faced with two Palestinian entities¹², one run by Hamas and one run by Fatah.

1 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。

2 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。

3 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

4 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。

5 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

10 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

11 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

12 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。