U.S. envoy George Mitchell has failed to convince Palestinian leaders to return to negotiations with Israel. Talks have been stalled for more than a year and Mitchell is in the region urging both sides to take steps to get negotiations going again.
For President Barack Obama's special envoy for Middle East peace, George Mitchell, it was another frustrating visit.
对于美国总统的中东和平特使米切尔来说，这是又一次令人失望的访问。
He met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah Friday for several hours, and left with no commitment from the Palestinians on returning to talks. Mitchell did not speak to reporters. News of his failure to convince them to resume negotiations came from chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
星期五，他在约旦河西岸城市拉马拉与巴勒斯坦权力机构主席阿巴斯进行了长达数小时的会晤，但是并没有得到巴方重回谈判桌的承诺。米切尔并没有接受记者采访。巴勒斯坦首席谈判代表埃拉卡特发布了关于米切尔未能说服他们恢复和谈的消息。
Mr. Erekat said President Obama has been pushing for a final agreement, something he says the Palestinians also want. He said Mitchell called on Palestinian officials to restart negotiations, and he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wants a resumption of talks. But, Erekat said, this is where the disagreement is. He said the Palestinians want negotiations based on where talks with the previous Israeli administration left off.
埃拉卡特说，奥巴马总统一直努力推进达成一份最终协议，他表示这也是巴勒斯坦方面所希望的。他说，米切尔呼吁巴勒斯坦官员重新开启谈判，并且以色列总理内塔尼亚胡也希望能恢复和谈。但是，埃拉卡特表示，这就是分歧所在。他说，巴勒斯坦希望和谈能够在与前任以色列政府对话结果的基础上展开。
Palestinian leaders say they will not return to negotiations unless Israel freezes construction on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
巴勒斯坦领导人说，除非以色列冻结所有被占约旦河西岸的犹太人定居点建设，否则巴方不会重返谈判桌。
Israel has called a partial, temporary freeze and says it wants negotiations without preconditions.
以色列已经下令暂时部分冻结定居点建设，并且说希望和谈不附加任何前提条件。
The Palestinians and the former administration under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held talks, and Mr. Olmert has since said both sides came close to reaching an agreement.
巴勒斯坦曾经与以色列上一任总理奥尔默特的政府举行和谈，那时奥尔默特表示双方已经快要达成协议。
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who took office last year, has criticized the Palestinians for adding what he says are new conditions that they had never put before.
去年接任的内塔尼亚胡总理批评巴勒斯坦方面添加了他所说的前所未有的新前提条件。
The Palestinians accuse Israel of hampering their plans for a future state by continuing to build on settlements that sit on lands in the West Bank that were captured by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel has never annexed the West Bank, but successive governments have encouraged hundreds of thousands of Israelis to move there.
巴勒斯坦指责以色列阻碍了一个未来巴勒斯坦国的计划，原因是以色列一直试图在被占领的约旦河西岸进行定居点建设。这个地区是以色列在1967年阿以战争中获得的土地。以色列从未吞并这个地区，但是政府一直鼓励成百上千的以色列人去那里定居。
The Palestinians also want an end to Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, which they claim as the capital of their future state.
巴勒斯坦也希望以色列停止东耶路撒冷的定居点建设。巴方宣称这是他们未来国家的首都。
Mr. Mitchell has made numerous trips to the region since President Obama took office a year ago, hoping to bridge differences and get both sides back to the table.
自奥巴马总统执政一年来，米切尔已经对中东地区进行了多次访问，希望成为双方的桥梁，淡化分歧以促使双方重新回到谈判桌上来。
The latest visit came as pessimism grows over the future of the peace process. Mitchell's meeting with Palestinian officials on Friday happened a day after Time magazine published an interview that quoted President Obama as saying his administration overestimated its ability to persuade Israel and the Palestinians to engage in a meaningful conversation.
由于双方对和平进程的未来日渐悲观，米切尔进行了最新一次的访问。米切尔星期五与巴勒斯坦官员会面的前一天，时代周刊刊登了对奥巴马总统的一次访谈。奥巴马在访问中表示，他的政府高估了他们说服以色列和巴勒斯坦进行有意义的谈判的能力。
He told the magazine that if his administration had anticipated some of the political problems, it might not have raised expectations as high as it did.
奥巴马告诉时代周刊，如果美国政府预料到了某些政治难题，可能就不会对和平谈判作出如此高的期待。 |