Palestinians are reacting positively to their leader's summit meeting with the president of the United States in Washington. But Israelis are skeptical.
巴勒斯坦人对他们的领导人与美国总统在华盛顿举行的会晤做出积极回应，但以色列人却对此持怀疑态度。
Palestinian officials say they are encouraged by President Barack Obama's meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas Thursday at the White House. Mr. Obama called for the creation of a Palestinian state and condemned Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank.
巴勒斯坦官员说，巴勒斯坦领导人阿巴斯与美国总统奥巴马星期四在白宫的会晤令他们感到鼓舞。奥巴马总统呼吁建立一个巴勒斯坦国，并谴责犹太人扩大其在约旦河西岸的定居点。
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says the new U.S. administration is taking the right steps to advance the peace process. "We want any Israeli government to accept the two-state solution, agreements signed, and stop settlement activities," he said.
巴勒斯坦谈判代表埃尔卡特说，新一届的美国政府正在采取正确的步骤来推动和平进程。“我们希望以色列的任何政府能够接受两个国家的解决方案，签订协议，并停止定居点活动。”
The settlement issue is raising tension between Israel's new right-wing government and Washington. Israel says it will not build new settlements, but it reserves the right to build in existing communities to accommodate "natural growth."
定居点问题引发了以色列新右翼政府与华盛顿之间的紧张局势。以色列政府说，他们不会建立新的定居点，但保留在现有定居点上扩建的权力，以适应“自然的增长”。
The United States opposes any construction in the settlements, and settlers are outraged. Chanie Luz lives in the West Bank settlement of Bethel near the Palestinian-ruled city of Ramallah.
美国反对在定居点内进行任何建设，引起了定居者的愤怒。山尼-鲁斯住在约旦河西岸定居点贝瑟尔，该定居点位于近巴勒斯坦统治的城市拉马拉。
"We see it as a racist statement to say that the Jews can't have children, or that Jews can't build their houses, or the Jews can't add a room onto their house because they want to have a larger house," said Luz.
鲁斯说：“在我们看来这是一项种族主义的声明，即犹太人不能有自己的孩子，或犹太人不能盖自己的房屋，或犹太人不能因为想要住大一点的房子而扩建现有的房屋。”
Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also opposes the creation of a Palestinian state. Israel pulled out of the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip in 2005, and today it is controlled by Hamas, a violent Islamic militant group that refuses to recognize the Jewish state. Hamas has fired thousands of rockets across the Gaza border at Israeli communities; and Netanyahu fears a Palestinian state in the West Bank would lead to a similar situation in Israel's backyard.
以色列的鹰派总理内塔尼亚胡也反对建立一个巴勒斯坦国。以色列于2005年撤出巴勒斯坦统治的加沙地带。这一地区今天由主张暴力的伊斯兰激进组织哈马斯统治。哈马斯拒绝承认犹太国家，并向加沙边界另一侧的以色列社区发射了数千枚火箭。内塔尼亚胡担心在约旦河西岸成立巴勒斯坦国将导致以色列后院发生类似的情况。 |