Israelis elected a new parliament this week. The results gave 30 seats in the 120-member parliament to the Likud Party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Zionist Union finished second, winning 24 seats. A union of four Arab-led parties won 14 seats to become the third largest group in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
以色列人本周选举出了新议会。以色列总理内塔尼亚胡的利库德党在选举中赢得了议会120席中的30个席位。犹太复国主义联盟以24个席位排名第二。4家阿拉伯人主导政党组成的联盟赢得14个席位，成为以色列议会中的第三大党派。
Mr. Netanyahu has said he plans to form a government in the next two or three weeks. He said he already spoke with smaller parties on forming the 61-seat coalition he needs to govern. On Thursday, Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog said his party will not join the coalition.
内塔尼亚胡先生已经表示计划在未来两到三周内组建政府。他说自己已经就组建执政所需的61个席位的联合政府与小党派进行了会谈。
In the United States, debate has begun over how the election results will affect U.S. relations with Israel. Differences on major issues have led to increased tensions between the countries.
在美国，各方已经开始争论选举结果将会如何影响美国与以色列关系。美国和以色列在重大问题上的分歧加剧了两国之间的紧张局势。
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Washington and spoke to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. His comments about nuclear negotiations with Iran angered the administration of President Barack Obama. He called a yet-to-be-announced agreement with Iran, "a bad deal."
本月早些时候，以色列总理内塔尼亚胡前往华盛顿并在美国国会的一次联合会议上做了发言。他对美国同伊朗核谈判的评论激怒了奥巴马政府。他称美国同伊朗即将公布的协议是一项糟糕的协议。
There are also tensions about the Middle East peace process. Earlier this week, Mr. Netanyahu said he would never support a Palestinian state. His comment came in the final hours of the election campaign. It appeared to overturn the position he had held as prime minister, when Israelis and Palestinians held peace talks. Those negotiations eventually broke down.
美以两国就中东和平进程关系也很紧张。本周早些时候，内塔尼亚胡先生表示，他不会支持巴勒斯坦建国。他的评论发表于竞选的最后几个小时。这番表态似乎推翻了他作为总理在以色列人和巴勒斯坦人举行和平会谈之时持有的立场。
On Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu appeared to step away from that comment. He told American media he does not object to a "demilitarized Palestinian state." But he said that creation of such a state is not possible at the current time.
周四，内塔尼亚胡先生似乎放弃了那种论调。他对美国媒体表示，他不反对建立一个非军事化的巴勒斯坦国。但他表示，当前建立这样一个国家是不可能的。
In the United States, lawmakers of the two major parties have congratulated Israel on the elections. But there was a striking difference in public statements between Republicans and Democrats.
美国两大政党的国会议员就选举结果对以色列表示了祝贺。但是在共和党人和民主党人的公开声明上有着显著差异。
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, was satisfied with the election results. "Heartfelt congratulations to Netanyahu," he wrote on Twitter. Speaker Boehner said he was "looking forward to continuing the strong bond" between the two countries.
众议院议长博纳对选举结果很满意。他在Twitter上写道，“衷心祝贺内塔尼亚胡。”博纳议长表示，他期望继续两国之间的紧密联系。
Another Republican, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, made clear he was cheering for Mr. Netanyahu, or, as he calls him, "Bibi."
另一位共和党人，犹他州参议员奥林·哈奇（Orrin Hatch）明确表示他为内塔尼亚胡先生喝彩，并以其昵称“比比”称呼他。
"Bibi is one of the strongest people I've seen in the, in the world. So you gotta give him a lot of credit for winning that election and, personally, I believe that's in the best interests of Israel, and I'm glad they (Israeli voters) made that choice."
“比比是我见过的最有影响力的人。所以我对他赢得选举充满信任。就个人而言，我相信这符合以色列的最大利益。我很高兴以色列选民做出了这番选择。”
But many Democrats seemed to avoid discussion of Mr. Netanyahu at all. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey described the ties between the United States and Israel as "unbreakable."
但是许多民主党人似乎在完全避免讨论内塔尼亚胡先生。宾夕法尼亚州参议员鲍勃·凯西（Bob Casey）称美国和以色列之间的关系牢不可破。
"We're gonna be not only supportive of Israel's security, but also reaffirming the values that bring our countries together. So that's, in short, I think, (the case) no matter, no matter what happens in any election."
“我们不仅将会支持以色列安全，同时也要重申让两国团结起来的价值观。所以我认为别管选举中发生了什么。”
Another Democrat, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, had a similarly measured reaction.
另一位民主党人，康涅狄格州参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔（Richard Blumenthal）也有类似的慎重回应。
"I'm looking forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Netanyahu and seeking peace in the Middle East."
他说，“我期望继续同内塔尼亚胡总理合作并寻求中东和平。”
Neri Zilber is with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He says the United States may continue having problems with Mr. Netanyahu's way of doing things. But he expects a continued U.S. push for its policy objectives in Israel. In his words, "you can expect an increased push by this administration on the Palestinian peace process. The U.S. will likely put forward its own idea with respect to what a negotiated final status agreement looks like," whether Mr. Netanyahu and the Israeli government like it or not.
内里·齐尔博（Neri Zilber）就职于华盛顿近东政策研究所。他说，美国对内塔尼亚胡先生处理事情的方式可能还会有问题。但他估计，美国会继续推动它在以色列的政策目标。用他的话来说就是，“你可以预期本届政府会进一步推动巴勒斯坦和平进程。美国可能会就谈判的最终协定提出自己的想法。”无论内塔尼亚胡先生及以色列政府是否喜欢。