美国国家公共电台 NPR--Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to cool tensions but then: chaos

Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to cool tensions but then: chaos¹

Transcript²

Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on a plan to cool tensions, but then two Israeli settlers were killed in the occupied West Bank. That led hundreds of Israelis to go on a deadly rampage.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The White House called it historic. Top Israeli and Palestinian officials held a rare meeting yesterday and agreed on a plan to cool tensions, but then chaos.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The killing³ of two Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank prompted hundreds of Israelis to go on a violent rampage, setting fire to dozens of Palestinian homes and cars. A Palestinian man was killed.

MART?NEZ: Let's get the latest from NPR's Daniel Estrin. He's in Jerusalem. Daniel, how did things devolve so quickly, considering there was an agreement to cool things down?

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁴: It's a question of unraveling control on the ground. We have the extreme elements of Israel's right-wing government dictating⁵ harsher policies toward Palestinians. On the Palestinian side, officials are losing their ability and their will to clamp down on rogue⁶ gunmen. And we have seen especially bloody⁷ violence in the last few weeks. That is the context. So the goal of yesterday's talks in Jordan, which the U.S. orchestrated, was to calm things down, especially before April, when Ramadan and Passover coincide. That is a time when tensions tend to escalate⁸. Palestinian officials agreed to work with Israel to maintain law and order in the West Bank, and Israel agreed in writing to this four-to-six-month freeze on any new decisions on settlements in the West Bank. But then some senior far-right members of Israel's government took the reins¹⁰ and said, we are not freezing any settlement activity. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is walking it back. And now, as we see, events on the ground are overtaking everything.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. And then things got really ugly yesterday.

ESTRIN: They did. During these talks in Jordan, a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank killed two young Israeli men in their early 20s. They're West Bank settlers. They were in their car. Just underscoring the idea that the Palestinian Authority is being asked to rein⁹ in these gunmen. After the talks ended, Israeli settlers went on a rampage, the likes of which we have never seen. Hundreds of settlers, some of them were armed, some shooting, they torched dozens of Palestinian homes and cars. They destroyed large swaths of a village nearby. These fires were enormous. Medics say some Palestinians were injured. One Palestinian shot and killed, and his brother told us he just got back a few days ago from Turkey where he was volunteering with earthquake relief efforts. An Israeli military official told me, yes, the army failed to stop this. Israel has arrested eight settlers connected to those violent riots, released most of them.

MART?NEZ: And then there's ongoing¹¹ political turmoil¹² within Israel. What's the latest there?

ESTRIN: That's right. The government is bent¹³ on passing legislation, a judicial¹⁴ overhaul¹⁵ to weaken the independence of the courts. There have been massive protests we saw this weekend and other weekends. There are calls for a national strike this coming Wednesday. We're seeing some Israelis starting to pull their money out of Israel, fearing a hit to the very strong economy here. The government so far is determined¹⁶ to carry out this plan. And we'll have to see if the recent West Bank violence derails that process.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem. Daniel, thank you.

ESTRIN: You're welcome, A.

1 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 dictating   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• The manager was dictating a letter to the secretary. 经理在向秘书口授信稿。 来自辞典例句
• Her face is impassive as she listens to Miller dictating the warrant for her arrest. 她毫无表情地在听米勒口述拘留她的证书。 来自辞典例句

6 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

9 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

10 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

11 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。

12 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

15 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。