VOA标准英语 Egyptian Security Forces Scour The Sinai For Hezboll

Egyptian police searched a mountainous part of the Sinai peninsula, Monday, trying to find 13 men thought to belong to a Hezbollah cell planning attacks against Israeli tourists. The search was launched after authorities interrogated¹ 49 suspects now under arrest.
　
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that Sami Shihab, arrested in Egypt on suspicion of planning attacks there, is a member of the Lebanese Shiite group, 10 Apr 2009

The Sinai coastal² region near the Israeli border, including the Red Sea resort towns of Taba and Nuweiba, is a popular destination for Israelis. An Israeli man was reportedly stabbed in Nuweiba by a Libyan worker, Monday.

Top Egyptian security officials indicated last week they had arrested and were interrogating³ suspects with alleged⁴ ties to a Hezbollah terror cell believed to be operating inside the country.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah confirmed that one of those arrested, thought to be a ringleader, belonged to his group, but he denied planning attacks inside Egypt.

Egyptian police say the 49 suspects include Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, Sudanese and Egyptians.

Sheikh Nasrallah sparked a row with Egypt in January when he accused President Hosni Mubarak of having given Israel a "green light to attack Gaza." He also told Egypt, in his words, to "go to hell," during a speech Friday.

The Egyptian press, quoting Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, ran the banner headline Monday, "Egyptian security is a red line which must not be crossed."

Egyptian political commentator⁵ Abdel Moneim Said of the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies accused Nasrallah of smuggling⁶ arms into Egypt from Sudan.

He says Nasrallah is pretending that all he was doing was sending arms and supplies to Hamas in Gaza, which in and of itself is illegal. But the truth lies elsewhere, he argues. Why create cells in the Red Sea area, in Suez, or in Upper Egypt? It's all tied to the smuggling of arms from Sudan into Egypt.

Unconfirmed reports say Israel bombed a convoy⁷ of 17 trucks, loads with arms, near the Sudanese town of Port Sudan in January. The trucks were allegedly carrying munitions⁸ from Iran via Sudan, to be smuggled⁹ into Egypt and on to Gaza.

Paul Salem, who heads the Beirut-based Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East, thinks that Egyptian accusations¹¹ against Hezbollah are part of a regional clash between moderate Arab states, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and Iran, which backs Hezbollah.

"It's a rather serious accusation¹⁰ that puts Hezbollah in a fairly hot seat, and I think it also puts Iran in a fairly hot seat," said Salem. "It comes at a significant time in the sense that we are seeing a serious rapprochement between the so-called Arab moderates with Syria and the Egyptians and Syria, as well. At the same time, we see an escalation¹² between Egypt and Iran, with Hezbollah being the proxy¹³."

Salem notes that Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal lambasted Iran during a recent speech, indicating the country was a threat to the region. At the same time, the Saudis and other Arab states are reaching out to Syria, in hopes of driving a wedge between Damascus and Iran.

1 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 interrogating   

n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• She was no longer interrogating but lecturing. 她已经不是在审问而是在教训人了。 来自辞典例句
• His face remained blank, interrogating, slightly helpless. 他的面部仍然没有表情，只带有询问的意思，还有点无可奈何。 来自辞典例句

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

8 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

9 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

10 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

11 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

12 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

13 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。