VOA标准英语2008年-Thousands Flood Across Border From Gaza to Egyp

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
23 January 2008

Residents of the Gaza Strip have flooded across the border into Egypt to stock up on food and other supplies after militants¹ blew a huge hole in the border barricade², eventually opening the wall completely.  The Egyptian president ordered his security forces to let them pass.  An Israeli blockade of Gaza was eased a day earlier.  VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Cairo.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured across the border into Egypt after militants blew up about 200 meters of the metal border wall before dawn.

The Palestinians bought food, medicine, fuel and other vital supplies that have been in short supply in Gaza since the blockade began.  But they also snapped up cell phones, televisions and cigarettes, in some cases saying they hoped to re-sell the goods on the other side of the border.  Egyptian shopkeepers and local residents said store shelves were wiped clean.

Witnesses said Egyptian border guards watched the crowds enter, but made no effort to stop them, unlike a day earlier when scuffles broke out as protesters tried to break through.

Speaking to reporters in Cairo, President Hosni Mubarak said he had ordered security forces at the border to let the Palestinians cross.

He said he told security forces to let them come in to buy food, and then escort them back "as long as they are not carrying weapons."

The news from the border came as Egyptian security forces cracked down on protests in Cairo against the Israeli blockade of Gaza.  A large rally downtown was quickly dispersed³.  Police arrested hundreds of people before and during the protests, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood⁴.

Israel on Tuesday eased a blockade that had cut off fuel supplies to Gaza since late last week.  Rafah is the only Gaza border post not controlled by Israel.  It has been almost completely shut down since June, when Hamas violently took control of the Gaza Strip and ousted⁵ the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel has often criticized Egypt's efforts to control the Gaza border, saying it has been used to smuggle⁶ weapons and cash to reinforce Hamas.  Egypt has rejected the criticism, and the issue has considerably⁷ strained relations between the two countries in recent months.

Meanwhile, Hamas leaders now say they are willing to hold talks with Fatah over the border issue.

In Damascus, exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal spoke⁸ at a three-day summit of Palestinian factions⁹ opposed to peace with Israel.

He said Hamas is ready to strike a deal with Egypt and his Ramallah-based rivals from Fatah to administer the border crossing.  He added, "We do not want to control anything. We want liberty and relief for our Palestinian people."

He also called on Arab states to help lift the siege of Gaza and keep the Rafah border post permanently¹⁰ open.  He compared it to the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt and the oil industries of the Gulf¹¹ States.

Under a 2005 deal to open the border, the European Union is supposed to supervise the Rafah crossing, which was until June run by Fatah.  But the EU monitors withdrew when Hamas took over Gaza and say they will not return as long as the group remains¹² in control.  EU policy is not to deal with Hamas, which the EU considers a terrorist organization.

1 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。

2 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

3 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

4 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

7 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。