Israel has rejected a call by the United States for a total freeze on settlement expansion in the occupied territories.
以色列拒绝美国关于冻结在被占领土地上扩建定居点的要求。
Israel said construction in Jewish settlements will continue despite U.S. pressure. President Barack Obama began pressing the settlement issue at a White House summit last week with Israel's hawkish new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed growing impatience with the Jewish state.
以色列表示，以色列将继续建设犹太人定居点，尽管美国施加压力。美国总统奥巴马上星期跟新上任的以色列鹰派总理内塔尼亚胡在白宫举行峰会时开始就定居点问题向以色列施压。星期三，国务卿希拉里.克林顿也对犹太人国家以色列表示出越来越不耐烦。
"With respect to settlements, the president was very clear when Prime Minister Netanyahu was here," Clinton said. "He wants to see a stop to settlements - not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions."
克林顿说：“内塔尼亚胡总理访美时，奥巴马总统在定居点问题上的态度非常明确。他要看到停止建设定居点--不是一些定居点，不是非法定居点，也不是自然增长的扩建，没有例外。”
Legitimate expansion
But Israeli Cabinet Minister Benny Begin said natural growth is a legitimate reason for building in existing West Bank settlements to continue.
不过，以色列内阁部长本尼.贝京表示，在约旦河西岸现有定居点继续进行建设是有正当理由的。
"The Israeli Jewish towns and villages should develop according to the natural development rate and this must not be stopped," he said.
贝京说：“根据自然增长率，以色列的犹太人城镇和村庄应该得到发展，绝对不能停止。”
The settlement issue goes beyond natural growth. Underscoring the Israeli government's nationalist ideology, Begin referred to the West Bank by its biblical name-Judea and Samaria.
定居点不止是自然增长问题。贝京说到约旦河西岸时用的是圣经中的词--朱迪亚-撒马利亚，是西岸的意思，强调了以色列政府的民族主义观念。
"It applies the right of the Jewish people to its homeland, not only near Tel Aviv and Haifa, but also in the cradle of our history, in Samaria and in Judea," Begin said.
贝京说：“这表明以色列人有权在自己的国家行使权利，不仅在特拉维夫和海法附近，还可以在我们历史的发源地，在朱迪亚-撒马利亚。”
Obstacle to peace
Both the United States and the Palestinians see the settlements as an obstacle to peace.
美国和巴勒斯坦人都把这些定居点看成是实现和平的障碍。
"This is our word to the world: No peace can be reached with one settler remaining in Palestine," said Palestinian official Rafiq Husseini.
巴勒斯坦官员拉菲克.侯赛尼说：“这是我们向世界表明的，只要巴勒斯坦还有一个定居点，就不可能实现和平。”
The Palestinians said that until settlement expansion stops, resuming peace talks with Israel would be a waste of time.
巴勒斯坦人说，除非以色列停止扩建定居点，否则恢复跟以色列的和平谈判就是浪费时间。 |