VOA常速英语2008年-Poll Says Most Israelis Support Broad Military

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
15 February 2008

There is growing public pressure on the Israeli government to send the army into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. But as Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the government fears the consequences.

A new poll shows that 67 percent of Israelis support a large-scale ground operation in Gaza to stop daily Palestinian rocket attacks. Only 25 percent of those surveyed were opposed.

The poll, published in the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv, points to growing public anger over the rocket attacks that have terrorized Israeli towns and farming communities on the Gaza border. Pressure on the government increased last week after an eight-year-old boy lost his leg when a rocket hit the battered¹ town of Sderot.

Israeli analyst² Dan Dyker says a ground offensive in Gaza appears inevitable³.

"Strategic depth on the ground, control on the ground in Gaza, from a military standpoint, a defense⁴ standpoint, is critical to stopping this type of rocket fire. There's really very little other option to do it," said Dyker.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak says he has ordered the army to prepare for an offensive against Hamas, the Islamic militant⁵ group that rules Gaza. Hamas refuses to renounce⁶ violence and recognize Israel.

But the government is reluctant to invade heavily-populated Gaza, fearing high casualties among Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians⁷.

Dyker says it would also harm peace talks with the moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank, led by President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Both the Europeans and the Americans are opposed to a large-scale ground invasion by Israel because it is their view that the bilateral⁸ peace process with the Palestinians would essentially⁹ be buried if Israel were to engage in a large-scale ground operation in Gaza," said Dyker.

Palestinian officials confirm that. But with public pressure mounting, many Israeli officials say it is not a question of if Israel will invade Gaza, but when.

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 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。

5 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。

6 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

7 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。

8 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。