VOA常速英语2013--中东动乱令以色列不安

Middle East Turmoil 1 Sparks Unease in Israel 中东动乱令以色列不安

JERUSALEM — The year 2013 saw more upheaval 2 in the Middle East as the effects continued from popular uprisings in a half-dozen countries. For Israel this brought a  mixed reaction of reassurance 3 and uncertainty 4.

The effort to end Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program caused Israeli leaders their greatest worry. Few believe Iran is serious about abandoning its program, whose  existence it denies. Ephraim Kam is at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

意在结束伊朗嫌疑核武器项目的努力使得以色列领导人非常担忧，没有人认为伊朗会真的放弃该项目，而且伊朗否则该项目的存在。Ephraim Kam就职于特拉维夫市国家安全研究所。

"They [the Iranians] have not invested so many efforts and money just to stop it now even if they are in economic trouble. So what they are trying to do is to  maneuver, to give something, to get much more than they give and when the time is appropriate to continue with their nuclear program," said Kam.

“伊朗人在这方面投入这么多精力和资金，即使是陷入经济问题也不会停止该项目。所以他们的所作所为就是交出一些东西，然后得到更多，在时间合适时继续进行核项目。”

Israeli leaders are also watching the war in Syria. They like that the fighting is distracting the attention and absorbing the resources of Syria's government and its  allies, Iran and Hezbollah. But the situation must be watched, said Ely Karmon of The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. "Who will control the vast  territory which now is under the control of dozens, dozens of small organizations," he questioned. "Jihadists, Salafists, some of them local warlords?

以色列领导人们也在关注叙利亚的战争，战争转移了人们的目光，同时消耗叙利亚政府及其盟友伊朗核真主党的资源。但国际反恐研究所的Ely Karmon说必须关注这一局势，“谁将控制那些 目前被十几个小组织控制的广大领土呢，圣战分子、沙拉菲，还是当地军阀呢？”

The Syrian conflict has aggravated 5 tensions between the Sunni and Shi'ite branches of Islam across the region. Ephraim Kam said this, too, is benefiting Israel, though  the arrival of so many fighters is worrisome.

叙利亚冲突进一步恶化了该地区伊斯兰教逊尼派和什叶派的紧张局势，Ephraim Kam说尽管许多武装分子的到来令人担忧，但这对以色列有好处。

"Our concern is that at a certain point, when the struggle will decline, we are going to find these guys trying to challenge us. This is a problem. Not now. Not  immediately. What we have immediately, it's relatively 6 small incidents but sometime in future it can change," Kam said.

“我们担心在某个时候，当战斗消退下去时，这些武装分子就会来挑衅我们，这是个问题，但眼下还好，我们眼下遇到的问题还较小，但未来情况会发生变化。”

Egypt's military coup 7 was a relief to Israeli officials. The new government in Cairo has cracked down on terrorist activity in the Sinai near Israel and wants to  weaken the anti-Israel Hamas movement that rules Gaza.

埃及军方政变令以色列官方松了口气，开罗新政府镇压了与以色列接壤的西奈地区的恐怖活动，并希望削弱控制加沙的反以色列哈马斯运动。

The revival 8 of peace talks with the Palestinians after a three-year freeze brought some hope but most observers are not optimistic.

经过三年冻结后恢复与巴勒斯坦的和谈将带来一些希望，但大多数观察家并不乐观。

Ely Karmon said each side is constrained 9 by its hardliners. "So I think that we need an interim 10 agreement which will give symbolic 11 territorial 12 gains to the  Palestinians over the very short term, much more freedom of movement and economic incentives 13 and a very general framework which will speak about a final agreement," he  said.

Ely Karmon说各方都受到其强硬派的制约，“所以我想我们需要能在短期内给巴勒斯坦象征性领土的临时政府，以及活动自由、经济鼓励和非常笼统的框架，这些将有利于最后的协议。”

The Palestinians are pessimistic. They don't believe Israel is ready to make concessions 14, like freezing West Bank settlement, said Hadi Abdul Mahdi of East Jerusalem's  PASSIA research institute. "We are contained and will continue to be contained in an autonomy-minus situation, governed militarily by Israelis, controlled by the  powers of the West and keeping mediocre 15 people in offices like municipality arrangements," he added.

巴勒斯坦人很不乐观，他们认为以色列并未准备好让步，比如冻结西岸定居点，东耶路撒冷PASSIA研究所的哈·阿卜杜勒·迈赫迪说，“我们在自治程度最低的时候受到以色列军事手段的制 约，以后还要受到制约，被西方大国控制，像直辖市管理那样将平庸者留下。”

Israeli leaders said they are ready to make concessions but need security guarantees. But given the rising number of incidents in the past year, this appears less and  less likely.

以色列领导人称准备做出让步，但需要有安全保障。但考虑到过去一年事件进一步多发，让步看来越来越不可能。