FEW, IF ANy, security forces are as ruthlessly(无情地，冷酷地) effective as Israel’s. Its military and intelligence services strike against enemies even at extreme distances(即使在极远距离). In the past couple of years alone Israel has assassinated(暗杀，刺杀) dozens of opponents inside Iran, plus proxy militia(代理民兵组织) leaders in Lebanon and Yemen. Israel’s martial(军事的，战争的) capabilities earn respect even from its bitterest enemies.
很少有安全部队能像以色列那样冷酷高效。其军队和情报部门即使在极远距离也能打击敌人。仅在过去几年中，以色列就在伊朗境内暗杀了数十名对手，外加黎巴嫩和也门的代理民兵领导人。以色列的军事能力甚至赢得了最敌对者的尊重。
Yet this superiority seems to count for little(无足轻重，几乎不起作用) closer to home(在更近的地方，切身相关). Those same forces are responsible for a dire(可怕的，极严重的) failure in the occupied West Bank, where violent Israeli settlers have been attacking Palestinian residents with increasing brutality(残忍，野蛮). Settlers want to force Palestinians from their land and claim(声称拥有，索取) it for themselves.
然而，这种优势在离家更近的地方似乎无足轻重。同样的部队在约旦河西岸占领区却遭遇了可怕的失败，那里的暴力以色列定居者正以越来越残忍的手段袭击巴勒斯坦居民。定居者想迫使巴勒斯坦人离开他们的土地，并将其据为己有。
Israel’s failure in the West Bank can hardly be put down to(归因于，归咎于) a lack of resources. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) deploy(部署，调度) 25 combat battalion(营（军事单位）)s there. Shin Bet, the powerful security agency, has networks of agents and informers(线人，告密者) throughout. But these are used mostly to protect the 500,000 or so Israeli settlers, and against the threat of terrorist attacks, not to assist the more than 3m Palestinians who live in the territory.(但这些主要用于保护约50万以色列定居者，并应对恐怖袭击威胁，而不是帮助该地区的300多万巴勒斯坦人。) This has largely been the case since Israel replaced Jordan as occupier of the West Bank in 1967.
以色列在约旦河西岸的失败很难归咎于资源匮乏。以色列国防军（IDF）在那里部署了25个作战营。强大的安全机构辛贝特（Shin Bet）在整个地区拥有特工和线人网络。但这些主要用于保护约50万以色列定居者，并应对恐怖袭击威胁，而不是帮助居住在该地区的300多万巴勒斯坦人。自1967年以色列取代约旦成为约旦河西岸占领者以来，情况基本如此。