VOA标准英语2008年-Death Toll in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Fall

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
01 January 2008

A new report from an Israeli human-rights group says the death toll¹ in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fell sharply in 2007. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from our Jerusalem bureau.

Last year Israeli security forces killed 373 Palestinians and Palestinians killed 13 Israelis - seven of whom were civilians². That is the lowest number of Israelis killed since the second Palestinian Intifada began in 2000, and slightly lower than the 17 Israeli civilians killed in 2006.

The figures come from the Israeli human-rights group B'Tselem. The group's communications director Sarit Michaeli says while 373 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces last year, that number is far below previous years, especially in 2006, when Israeli forces carried out large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip.

"The reduction in the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli security forces is the result of cessation of several practices by the Israeli Army - most notably³ artillery⁴ fire into the northern Gaza Strip and probably the invasion or military operations conducted in the northern Gaza Strip," said Michaeli.

At the same time Michaeli says while the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces has dropped, 131 of the 373 killed were civilians, and 53 of those killed were under the age of 18.

The report also says there was a sharp rise in the number of Palestinians killed in Palestinian factional fighting last year, saying 344 Palestinians were killed in fighting between the Hamas and Fatah political factions⁵ in the Gaza Strip.

A statement from the Israeli Defense⁶ Forces says its operations are carried out in response to imperative⁷ security considerations, and that it places great emphasis on minimizing the harm caused to non-combatants.

B'tselem notes that more Palestinians are being arrested, saying there was a 13 percent increase in the number of Palestinians being held without being charged or put on trial. The group also criticized the behavior of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, saying restrictions⁸ in the form of 459 roadblocks and 66 manned checkpoints have severely⁹ restricted the movement of Palestinians.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 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。

7 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。