Hillary Clinton Begins First Foray Into Israel-Palestinian Conflict
美国务卿飞抵以色列展开斡旋访问
Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel, beginning her first foray into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the new U.S. secretary of state. The top U.S. diplomat landed in Tel Aviv late Monday from Egypt, where she attended a donors' conference that raised more than $5 billion in pledges to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip. Pressure is rising for a political breakthrough in the Middle East peace process.
美国国务卿希拉里.克林顿抵达以色列,展开她就任以来对以巴冲突双方的首次斡旋访问。这位美国最高外交官星期一晚上从埃及飞抵特拉维夫,她在埃及出席了一场募款会议,募款所得50亿美元将用来重建饱受战争摧残的加沙地带。要求中东和平进程实现政治突破的压力正在不断升高。
During her stop at the donors' conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheik, Secretary Clinton said no one can afford any more setbacks or delays in forging peace in the Middle East.
在埃及度假胜地沙姆沙伊赫出席募款会议时,克林顿国务卿说,中东的和平进程再也经受不起任何倒退或延误了。
She said the United States hopes that by providing aid to help the Gaza Strip rebuild, it can foster conditions for a peaceful and responsible Palestinian state.
她说,美国希望借由提供加沙地带重建经费,为建立一个和平、负责任的巴勒斯坦国创造条件。
"Our [U.S.] pledge of over $900 million designed in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and to be submitted to the United States Congress will deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank," she said. "All of us recognize that human progress depends on the human spirit, that a child growing up in Gaza without shelter, healthcare or an education has the same right to go to school, see a doctor and live with a roof over her head, as a child growing up in your country or mine."
克林顿说:“我们提供的9亿多美元经费是要与巴勒斯坦当局合作,并且将送交美国国会批准,希望这笔经费能给加沙地带以及约旦河西岸地区的居民一些帮助。我们都知道,人类的进步需要仰赖人的精神,一个在加沙地带缺乏住所、医疗保健和教育环境下成长的孩子,应该与你我国家的任何孩子一样享有上学、看病和住房的权利。”
Conditions in Gaza remain dire after Israel's 22-day campaign on militants destroyed thousands of homes. Journalist Mohammed Dawwas in Gaza, reporting for VOA, says heavy rain in the last few days has created even more misery for those living in tents.
在以色列对激进组织哈马斯发动22天的进攻、摧毁了上千栋住房后,加沙地带的情况依旧危急。在当地为美国之音报导的记者达瓦斯说,过去几天连续大雨,让居住在帐篷里的灾民状况更为悲惨。
"All of these tents were damaged and people had just to get out of [them] and escape and go somewhere to be sheltered because it was all ruined," he said. "It was mud everywhere. I mean, you just can [not] believe what was going on there. It was like another invasion, but by water."
他说:“所有的帐篷都坏了,大家必须去寻找新的住所,因为所有一切都毁坏了,到处都是泥泞,你无法想象情况有多糟,就像又遭受了一次攻击,不过这次是被大雨袭击。”
Pledges at the donor conference in Egypt far exceeded the amount that Palestinian officials had hoped to raise for reconstruction efforts. The challenge now is putting the money to work to rebuild Gaza.
在埃及募款会议上筹得的重建资金远远超出了巴勒斯坦官员的预期,现在的挑战是如何将这些钱用在加沙的重建工作上。
Israel controls all border crossings into Gaza and does not allow construction materials such as concrete or steel to enter the Strip. The Israelis fear that Hamas may use the materials to build military facilities and step up attacks on the Jewish state.
以色列控制着所有进入加沙地带的边界过境点,不允许任何建设物资,例如混凝土或钢筋进入加沙。以色列担心激进组织哈马斯会利用这些物资兴建军事基地,增加对以色列的攻击。
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told VOA his government wants assurances that the funds will not be misused.
以色列总理奥尔默特的发言人马克.雷格夫说,以色列希望确保这笔重建经费不会被错误使用。
"With supplies like concrete, with steel, unfortunately you could have a situation where that is diverted by Hamas, and instead of helping people to rebuild houses, they'll be building underground bunkers for their own military machine," he said. "So I think we in the international community have to find mechanisms to make sure that aid for the people of Gaza is precisely that."
他说:“像是混凝土、钢筋这类原料,有可能不但没有帮助居民重建住房,反而被哈马斯用来建造用于军事目的的地下碉堡,所以我认为国际社会应该寻求一个机制,确保这些援助费用确实用在加沙地带民众的身上。”
Secretary Clinton's schedule on Tuesday includes meetings with Israeli leaders. She is due to travel to the West Bank on Wednesday for meetings with top Palestinian officials. Her aim is to see how best to revive the stalled peace process.
克林顿国务卿星期二的行程包括与以色列领导人的会晤。星期三,她将前往约旦河西岸地区与巴勒斯坦官员会面。她的目标是寻求恢复陷入僵局的和平进程的最佳方式。
Both sides are eager to know the details of how the new Obama administration will pursue peace in the region. Both have a long list of expectations.
以巴双方都希望了解奥巴马政府对中东和平的细节规划。双边都有相当多的期待。
Politics professor Ali Jarbawi at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank says many Palestinians believe that years of negotiations have yielded them nothing. He says they hope the Obama administration will use the U.S. influence on Israel to give the peace process a push.
约旦河西岸比尔泽特大学政治系教授阿里.迦巴威说,许多巴勒斯坦人认为多年的谈判毫无结果,他们希望奥巴马政府能够向以色列施压,推动和平进程。
"We want this administration to exert its pressure to finally find out whether Israel is serious about reaching a settlement with the Palestinians or wants only to impose a settlement on the Palestinians," he said.
他说:“我们希望奥巴马政府对以色列施压,看看以色列究竟是真心想与巴勒斯坦达成协议,还是只想把定居点强加给巴勒斯坦人。”
Israel expects the same level of support that it has historically received from Washington, and Israeli leaders seek cooperation from the Obama administration to keep up the pressure on terrorists, as well as on Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
以色列期待从华盛顿获得和过去同样水平的支持。以色列领导人希望与奥巴马政府一起,继续对恐怖分子、对伊朗及其核野心保持压力。
It is uncertain how much progress Secretary Clinton could make on this trip. Israel is the midst of a political storm, following inconclusive general elections last month in which hawkish parties made a strong showing.
目前还不清楚克林顿国务卿此行能达成多少进展。以色列国内目前陷入一场政治风暴,上个月的大选导致鹰派政党取得领先。
A new Israeli government will likely be led by rightist Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants peace with the Palestinians but is unwilling to negotiate on key issues and has refused to declare his support for the two-state solution favored by the United States.
右翼的内坦尼亚胡极有可能组建一个新政府。他表示愿意与巴勒斯坦取得和平,但不愿意就一些关键议题进行谈判,而且拒绝支持美国赞同的以巴两国共存建议。