2007年VOA标准英语-Israel Releases More Than 250 Palestinian Priso

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
20 July 2007

Israeli authorities have released 256 Palestinian prisoners as part of a plan to bolster¹ Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his ongoing² conflict with Hamas militants³. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Released Palestinian prisoners are greeted by releatives as they arrive at President Mahmoud Abbas' headquarters in Ramallah, 20 Jul 2007

The former prisoners traveled to the West Bank city of Ramallah after their release from Ketziot prison in Israel's Negev Desert. Many kissed the ground when they arrived in Ramallah to a welcome by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr. Abbas called Friday's release a beginning, saying he will work to get more prisoners released. The Palestinian President says he hopes for the release of all prisoners Israel holds.

Thousands of family members and Fatah loyalists greeted the men who celebrated⁴ their release by praying at the grave of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died in 2004.

Nearly all of those released Friday belong to President Abbas' Fatah movement. Israeli officials say all had at least one year left on their sentence. One of the most prominent was Abdel Rahim Malouh a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The group assassinated⁵ an Israeli cabinet member six years ago.

Israel still holds about 10,000 Palestinian prisoners. Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, says releasing prisoners Israel considers terrorists was not easy, but Israel wants to show support for President Abbas, who last month dismissed the Hamas-led Palestinian unity⁶ government and named a new moderate cabinet that Israel says it can work with.

"I want to emphasize these are convicted terrorists," said Eisin. "These are not easy people for Israel let out. They participated in acts of terror. The reason we are letting them out is to show a gesture of goodwill⁷ to try and strengthen those forces in the Palestinian Authority who state clearly they want to reach the Palestinian state through dialogue and not through terror."

The prisoner release came one day after the central council of the Palestine Liberation Organization endorsed⁸ a call by Mr. Abbas for early elections. Hamas leaders strongly condemned⁹ the move. Last month Hamas militants seized power in the Gaza Strip effectively splitting the Palestinian territories in two.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

8 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。