President Bush is in Israel to begin a five-day trip to the Middle East. The president is hoping for progress on efforts to resolve the Israeli - Palestinian dispute.
布什总统目前正在以色列，开始了对中东地区的五天行程。布什总统希望此行可以推进解决以色列和巴勒斯坦争议的努力。
An Israeli military honor guard welcomed the president and Mrs. Bush to Tel Aviv. He is here to help celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary and hopes to encourage faltering talks on the creation of a separate Palestinian state.
布什总统和夫人抵达特拉维夫，受到以色列军方仪仗队的欢迎。布什此行的目的是庆祝以色列建国六十周年。他同时希望能促进目前摇摇欲坠的有关建立巴勒斯坦国的谈判。
White House officials say the president is still optimistic that the outline of such a state can be concluded before he leaves office in January.
白宫官员说，布什依然很乐观，他认为在他明年一月离任前，有关建立巴勒斯坦国的大致计划可以最后敲定。
Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Mr. Bush in Jerusalem and said some of the obstacles to peace may soon fade.
以色列总统西蒙.佩雷斯在耶路撒冷会晤了布什总统，并表示和平的一些障碍可能很快会消失。
"I think before you leave office you will see a change of guards here in the Middle East. What looks today so gloomy may be the last effort of some very extremist groups to remain alive," he said.
“我认为在你离任前，你会看到中东安全局势的改变。今天看起来令人沮丧的一切，可能是一些非常极端组织的最后垂死挣扎。”
President Peres sees the decline of the militant group Hezbollah, which he says is destroying neighboring Lebanon, and Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip and Mr. Peres says is postponing the creation of a Palestinian state.
佩雷斯总统表示，他看到激进组织真主党的衰退。他说，真主党正在毁坏邻国黎巴嫩。佩雷斯总统还表示，控制着加沙地带的哈马斯组织正在拖延巴勒斯坦建国的努力。
President Bush says a separate state would give Palestinians a choice between more violence under Hamas and a more stable future under Fatah, which controls the West Bank.
布什总统说，巴勒斯坦国的建立将给巴勒斯坦人带来一个选择， 是生活在哈马斯领导下的更多暴力之中，还是在法塔赫领导下享受比较稳定的未来。法塔赫目前控制着约旦河西岸地区。
"We will continue to work toward a vision where people who are just reasonable and want a chance to live at peace with Israel have that opportunity, and at the same time speak clearly about the forces of terror who murder innocent people to achieve their political objectives and how the world must stand against them," said Mr. Bush.
布什：“我们将继续为未来的前景而努力。到那时，那些理智的人们，希望与以色列和平相处的人们才有那样的机会。同时，我们也会明确地指出那些恐怖力量，他们通过谋杀无辜的人们来达到他们的政治目标，全世界必须站起来反对他们。”
Nathan Brown directs Middle East studies at George Washington University. He says a divided Palestinian authority is blocking progress toward a separate state because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas does not speak for all Palestinians.
美国乔治.华盛顿大学中东研究项目的负责人布朗说，巴勒斯坦当局的分裂正在阻碍巴勒斯坦建国，因为巴勒斯坦主席阿巴斯并不能代表所有的巴勒斯坦人。
"There simply is not a unified viable, Palestinian leadership, so how do you make a deal if there is nobody who can really sign on the dotted line delivering the Palestinian side," said Brown.
他说：“目前没有一个团结的、可持续的巴勒斯坦领导层，所以，如果没有人能够代表巴勒斯坦方面在协议上签字，你又怎么能达成协议呢？”
Progress toward a two-state solution is also slowed by the political weakness of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who is currently under investigation for political corruption.
以色列总理奥尔默特在政治上的软弱也减慢了在巴以两国共存问题上的进展。奥尔默特目前正受到政治腐败方面的调查。
The prime minister denies the allegations and says he will resign if indicted.
奥尔默特否认腐败指称，并说，如果受到起诉他就会辞职。
"His political obituary has been written many times before and it is premature to conclude that he will be forced from office," said John Alterman, who directs the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a public policy research group in Washington. "But it is a fantasy to think that Ehud Olmert can make difficult and far-reaching diplomatic concessions when his political survival is under severe threat. In fact, the incentives are for Olmert to make apparent progress for peace, but not to conclude a peace deal that would alienate vital supporters."
奥尔特曼是华盛顿公共政策研究机构战略与国际问题研究中心中东项目的主任。他说：“奥尔默特以前也曾多次被宣判政治死刑。但是，现在说他将被迫辞职还为时尚早。不过，如果认为当他的政治前途受到严重威胁时他还能作出艰难而影响深远的外交让步，那也是不切实际的。事实上，他的计划是在和平问题上取得明显的进展，但是不会和巴勒斯坦达成和平协议，因为那样做会疏远一些对他来说至关重要的支持者。”
White House officials do not expect any major breakthroughs on this trip but argue there has been halting progress between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators since they resumed talks following the president's Middle East summit in the United States last November.
美国白宫官员并不期待布什此行能取得突破性的进展，不过，他们说，自从去年11月布什总统在美国组织召开中东问题高峰会议之后，以色列和巴勒斯坦的谈判人员之间取得了断断续续的进展。
Mr. Bush will meet separately with President Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. During this trip, he will also meet with Saudi King Abdallah, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jordanian King Abdullah, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
布什将分别会晤巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席阿巴斯和巴勒斯坦总理法耶兹。他还将会晤沙特国王阿卜杜拉、阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊、约旦国王阿卜杜拉和埃及总统穆巴拉克。 |