克里斡旋無功 美以關係現裂痕

Recriminations about US efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza grew on Monday, even though the tempo of fighting was reduced.

儘管以色列和哈馬斯間的戰火有所減弱，但美國國務卿美國國務卿約翰•克里(John Kerry)在兩者間的調停努力在週一仍然引發了更大的輿論反彈。

US secretary of state John Kerry returned to Washington on Sunday after a week of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East that failed to bring an end to the 21-day conflict, which has already left 1,050 people dead.

在中東開展了一週的穿梭外交之後，克里週日返回了華盛頓。不過，他此次斡旋沒能終結這一輪已延續21天、導致1050人喪生的衝突。

Instead, Mr Kerry’s efforts have resulted in a rift between the Obama administration and the Israeli government that could lead to more international pressure on Israel. This will make it harder still for the secretary of state to fulfil his goal of brokering a longer-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

相反，克里之行導致奧巴馬(Obama)政府和以色列政府之間出現了裂痕。這一裂痕可能會讓以色列面臨更大國際壓力，也令克里更難以通過外交斡旋爲巴以衝突找到一個更長期的解決方案。

Despite the lull in fighting, the conflict is becoming intractable: Hamas in Gaza demands an easing of economic restrictions while Israel wants to continue attacking the network of tunnels that Hamas has developed.

儘管雙方交火正在減少，但這次衝突正變得不可調和：加沙地帶的哈馬斯(Hamas)要求以方放寬經濟封鎖，而以色列則想繼續打擊哈馬斯挖掘的地道網絡。

The tensions between Mr Kerry and the Israeli government were apparent throughout his six days in the region, notably after the US aviation regulator banned commercial flights on Wednesday from landing at Tel Aviv airport because of the risk of Hamas bombs – a decision the Israeli government slammed as “a prize for terror”.

克里和以色列政府的緊張關係在他6天的中東之行裏表現得十分明顯，特別是在美國航空監管機構由於哈馬斯炸彈風險而在週三禁飛赴特拉維夫機場的商業航班之後——以色列政府曾強烈譴責這一決定，稱它是“恐怖事件的戰利品”。

The strains broke into the open on Friday when the US circulated the text of a ceasefire proposal. Within hours, the Israeli press reported that the country’s security cabinet had unanimously voted to reject the text.

週五當美國傳出一份停火提案時，雙方這種緊張關係走向公開。就在文本傳出幾小時後，以色列媒體報道稱，以色列安全內閣一致否決了這一文本。

Speaking on Israeli radio on Sunday, justice minister Tzipi Livni said she told Mr Kerry that the proposal was “completely unacceptable” and that it “would have strengthened extremists in the region”.

週日，以色列司法部長齊皮•利夫尼(Tzipi Livni)在以色列廣播上發表講話稱，她曾告訴克里這一提案“完全不可接受”，“可能會助長該地區極端分子的勢力”。

US officials, however, insist that the text was never presented as a formal proposal to be voted on, but was a set of ideas to be discussed and debated. Mr Kerry said it was an act of “mischief” to suggest there was a concrete ceasefire proposal.

不過，美國官方卻堅稱該文本根本就不是用來投票的正式提案，而是一些要經過磋商和辯論的初步想法。克里表示，那種暗示存在具體停火提案的行爲是“無事生非”。

The draft that US officials circulated called on both sides to “refrain from conducting any military or security targeting” during the ceasefire, which implies a halt in most military operations but does not preclude Israel from continuing to try to close tunnels. However, in the Israeli view, the document paid only lip-service to its security concerns about the threat from Hamas.

這份美方官員傳出的草案呼籲雙方在停火期間“不要採取任何帶有軍事或安全目的的行動”，這意味着停止大多數軍事行動，但未阻止以色列繼續關閉地道。然而，在以色列人看來，對於來自哈馬斯的威脅所引發的安全擔憂，文件中的提法只是一種場面話。

In Israeli eyes, Mr Kerry made things worse by travelling to Paris on Saturday to meet the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey, two governments with ties to Hamas whom Israel views as being opposed to its interests.

此外，在以色列人看來，週六克里去巴黎與卡塔爾和土耳其外長的會晤，讓情況變得更爲糟糕。這兩國政府都和哈馬斯有聯繫，以色列認爲它們都持有反以色列立場。

Since then, Mr Kerry has been savaged in the Israeli press, often based on anonymous comments by officials. One widely-read article in the liberal Haaretz claimed that if the fighting continued, Mr Kerry “will be one of those responsible for every additional drop of blood that is spilled”.

除了克里個人因素之外，美國和以色列間的新裂痕暴露出兩國在對加沙局勢的看法上出現了微妙而重要的分歧。

Although he has prided himself on being a friend of Israel since he entered US politics 30 years ago, Mr Kerry has enjoyed a fractious relationship with the Israeli government during his efforts over the past year to negotiate a peace settlement with the Palestinians. In January, Israeli defence minister Moshe Yaalon complained about his “incomprehensible obsession and a sense of messianism”.

週一，奧巴馬政府官員挺身而出，爲克里的行爲做了辯護。美國副國家安全顧問託尼•布林肯(Tony Blinken)表示：“對以色列來說，沒有比美國更好的盟友、更強大的守護者了。沒有哪個國家在幫助以色列獲得可靠而持久的和平方面做得更多。”他補充說，週五以來以色列媒體收到的關於停火磋商方面的爆料“是有人試圖誤導輿論，或者說已經誤導了輿論”。