(2006-10-25 23:41:41)
有一位研友有困难，大家也帮帮忙吧。
有一段话翻不好，帮忙看看吧，谢谢拉。
There is an old adage in the Middle East:If you give, you betterget; otherwise, there will be no end to the giving. Thisstreet-smart advice,which has underscored Israel's policy towardits Arab neighbors for the past 50 years, seems to have been turnedon its head by the recent flurry of unilateral proposals toward thePalestinians, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Herzliyaspeech outlining Israeli steps should Palestinians refuse tonegotiate.
只翻译第2句就可以了，也帮忙分析一下最后一个小分句的语法结构。
在中东流传着一句俗语，付出就必须有回报，不然付出就没个头了。这句听似精明的俗语恰恰强调了近50年来以色列对阿拉伯邻国主要采用双边政策，可是最近对巴勒斯坦采取单边行动的计划却表明以色列走了另外一条单边主义道路，总理沙龙的Herzliya演讲中更是概述了，假如巴勒斯坦人拒绝谈判，以色列将相继采取什么样的单边行动来应对。
这是一篇新闻评论的开头吧，不过好久远了啊，呵呵老掉牙了。还有下文我copy来。
Going It AloneWon’t Work
by: Aaron DavidMiller date: 2004-01-17
There is an old adage in the MiddleEast: If you give, you better get; otherwise, there will be no endto the giving. This street-smart advice, which has underscoredIsrael's policy toward its Arab neighbors for the past 50 years,seems to have been turned on its head by the recent flurry ofunilateral proposals toward the Palestinians, including PrimeMinister Ariel Sharon's Herzliya speech outlining Israeli stepsshould Palestinians refuse to negotiate.
Unilateral actions as a substitute for negotiations cannot work,and will only exacerbate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet forthe past two years, the departure point for Israelis' actionstoward their Palestinian neighbors has been a unilateral one,whether it is increased settlement activity or unilateral securityand economic measures. Suicide terror, aversion to Yasser Arafat,and the absence of a reliable Palestinian security partner haveunderstandably left most Israelis ready to act by themselves.
The most dramatic manifestation of this solo approach has been thesecurity wall. The wall reflects the frustration and fear of largesectors of the Israeli public and political establishment. Itsadvocates argue that even with only a third of the fence completed,it has already paid off. From April 2002 to December 2002, therewere 17 successful attacks in areas that the fence now straddles,resulting in 89 deaths; from January 2003 to November 2003, therewere eight attacks resulting in 51 deaths.
Unilateralism not only drives Israel's current policy, it has alsoinfluenced Israel's thinking about the future. The peace plan knownas the Road Map has been completely overshadowed by initiativesthat exclude any meaningful participation by a Palestinian partner.Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's bombshell interview, in whichhe contemplated large-scale withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza,does not include a Palestinian interlocutor. And the muchanticipated initiative by Sharon calls for unilateral evacuation ofsome settlements, unilateral annexation of others and a trialperiod of negotiations with Palestinians - and, if they fail,unilateral disengagement from additional West Bank territory.
Under current circumstances, unilateralism has a powerful appeal.If it can enhance Israeli security, preserve a Jewish majority anddisengage Israel from the Palestinian problem, why not pursue it?What other choice does Israel have?
Indeed, prospects for serious Israeli-Palestinian negotiations atthis time are bleak. Yet pursuing unilateral initiatives thatchange the political and territorial status quo will neitherenhance Israel's security nor end the conflict.
First, in the rough-and-tumble world of Arab-Israeli politics,withdrawal without reciprocity is an unmistakable sign of weaknessthat could easily diminish, not enhance, Israeli deterrence andsecurity. The strategy of marhaliyya, the liberation of Palestinein phases, which is popular among some Palestinians, would be givena boost.
Second, unilateralism simply cannot produce the practical economic,security, and political arrangements required to end theconflict.
Israeli and Palestinian lives and futures are inextricably linked.This strategic predicament can only be resolved by cleverlynegotiated and imaginatively conceived bilateral solutions.
Instead, unilateralism will leave problems galore: thousands ofWest Bank Palestinians within Israel's borders, no rationalsolutions to Palestinian labor flows, access to markets or sharedwater resources, and no practical security cooperation. In short,it will leave an angry and alienated Palestinian population withnowhere to go and nothing to lose.
In the end, the only outcome that has a chance of ending theconflict is a two-state solution negotiated with real reciprocityand continuing cooperation and interaction between Israelis andPalestinians. No amount of frustration with Palestinian behavior,nor the allure of unilateral solutions, will change that fact.Sadly, the only question is how long it will take Israelis andPalestinians to reach that point - and whether there will be atwo-state solution to negotiate once they do.
The writer is President of Seeds of Peace, a nonprofit organizationthat brings together teenagers from conflict areas. For 25 years hewas an adviser on Arab-Israeli negotiations to six U.S. Secretariesof State.
Source: The International Herald Tribune, January 6, 2004
Visit The International Herald Tribune website athttp://www.iht.com/frontpage.html
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.
Copyright permission has been obtained forpublication.
