他们称他为中东的胡迪尼，伟大的逃脱艺术家。而且，令人难以置信的是，看起来本杰明·“比比”·内塔尼亚胡，这位历史上最具分裂性且也最成功的政治家之一，又一次成功了。
They call him the Houdini of the Middle East, the Great Escape artist. And, incredibly, it looks like Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, one of the most divisive and also most successful politicians in history, has done it again.
当我在以色列凌晨时分上床睡觉时，似乎主要围绕“只要不是比比”口号凝聚的政治阵营可能刚好拥有足够的席位，首次尝试组建政府。
When I went to bed in the early hours of the morning in Israel, it looked like the political block which mainly was coalesced around the “anything but Bibi” message may have just had enough seats to make the first stab at trying to form a government.
但当我五小时后在以色列醒来时，随着更多选票被统计，这场震撼选举的结果显示，内塔尼亚胡的联盟似乎正蒸蒸日上，执政的利库德党远远领先于主要挑战者加迪·埃森科特的雅沙尔。
But when I woke up here in Israel five hours later, after more votes had counted in this seismic election, the Netanyahu coalition looked like it was steaming ahead, with the incumbent’s Likud party far ahead of principle challenger Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.
在三个任期中，内塔尼亚胡执政以色列共计19年——占现代以色列历史的惊人24%。他的支持者会说，他让国家变得更好。
Across three terms, Netanyahu has led Israel for 19 years – an incredible 24 per cent of the modern state of Israel’s history. His supporters would say he has changed the country for the better.
他把以色列打造成一个人均增长超越任何欧洲国家的强国。而且，在2023年10月7日哈马斯惨案发生之前，他还因让以色列免于任何大规模战争而被称为“安全先生”。
He has turned it into a powerhouse of a country with per capita growth which outflanks any European nation. And, until the horrifying Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, he was also known as “Mr Safety” for keeping Israel out of any major wars.
10月7日本应改变一切。过去几个月有报道称，内塔尼亚胡曾被警告哈马斯计划发动袭击，同时他也被指责对“概念化”负有责任：即如果用金钱安抚哈马斯，它就不敢挑起与以色列的战争。
October 7 should have changed it all. In the past few months there have been reports that Netanyahu was warned Hamas was planning an attack, while he has also been blamed for being responsible the “conceptzia”: the notion that if Hamas was appeased with money it wouldn’t dare try and start a war with Israel.
这是以色列自1973年战争以来最严重的军事失误，当时同样有关于邻国企图入侵的警告被忽视。当时的总理戈尔达·梅厄委托进行报告，调查国家为何会犯下如此错误，并因此辞职。内塔尼亚胡拒绝进行类似的报告，仍然坚持执政。
It was Israel’s greatest military failing since the 1973 war, when then too there were warnings about attempted invasions from neighbouring states which were ignored. The premier at the time, Golda Meir, commissioned a report into how the country got it so wrong, and resigned because of it. Netanyahu has refused any similar report and clung on.
在全球范围内，内塔尼亚胡已成为一个被憎恨的人物，被指责为以色列对加沙哈马斯的战争负责——这场冲突的关注度前所未有。
Across the world Netanyahu has become a hate figure, blamed for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza – a conflict which is obsessed over like no other.
为了保住总理职位，他与以色列议会中一些最种族主义的人同流合污，任由他们胡言乱语，关键的是，还赋予了他们实权。这意味着人们对极端定居者的暴力行为视而不见，并导致了使以色列在许多西方国家眼中沦为弃儿的言论。
To maintain his premiership he got into bed with some of the most racist people in the Israeli parliament, allowed them to shoot their mouths off and, crucially, gave them real power. It meant a blind eye was turned to extremist settler violence, and led to rhetoric which has turned Israel into a pariah in the eyes of many Western nations.
以色列清楚内塔尼亚胡在国际上的形象。并非他们不在乎，他们确实在乎。但选民认为自身安全更为重要——这是左右派选民投票的最大考量标准。
Israel is aware of how Netanyahu is seen across the world. It’s not that they don’t care, they do. But voters see their security as more important – it was the biggest criteria for voting for both those on the Left and the Right.
随着哈马斯在加沙势力壮大、真拒绝放下武器、叙利亚新政权前景未卜，以及——最迫切的是——面临与伊朗重燃战火的威胁，他们可能再次选择了这位仍被视为“稳操胜券”把舵的人。
And with Hamas growing in power in Gaza, Hezbollah refusing to lay down its arms, question marks over the new regime in Syria and – most pressingly – a threat of renewed war with Iran, they may again have gone with the man they still deem a safe pair of hands.
特朗普的背书或许略微助了一把力，这也有一定道理——以色列人知道，历史上最亲以色列的美国总统任期只剩两年了。
There is some truth that his endorsement from Donald Trump may have helped a little – Israelis know that have just two more years of the most pro-Israel American president in history.
尽管艾森科特曾任以色列国防军参谋长，且自10月7日战争爆发以来失去了儿子和侄子，但许多选民眼中，与这位老牌对手相比，他仍显得生手嫩。在以色列面临诸多生存威胁的背景下，他是个新手。
Eisenkot, despite being a former chief of staff of the IDF and having seen his son and nephews die in the war since October 7, was seen by many voters as a novice compared to his veteran rival. A novice in the context of the many existential threats Israel is facing.
尽管如此，事实是：比比（内塔尼亚胡昵称）能在民主体制下坚持这么久，实属惊人。
Nonetheless, the fact is that Bibi has managed to cling on this long within a democracy is astounding.
但周二展现了民主运作之美——从骑着骆驼前往投票站的贝都因阿拉伯人，到投票站外排起的长龙。
But Tuesday showed the beauty of democracy in action – from the Bedouin Arabs arriving to polling stations on camels to the huge queues outside booths.
也展现了其丑陋一面，利库德集团敦促选民出来投票，以阻止阿拉伯政党——它们或许仍会与内塔尼亚胡的反对派达成联盟协议。
And it also showed its ugly side, with Likud urging its voters to come out to stop the Arab parties who may yet still do a coalition deal with Netanyahu’s opposition.
以色列民众严肃对待他们的民主——周二投票率创下26年来新高，77.7%的选民前往投票。计票仍在进行，艾森科特阵营仍有一线希望反超。
The people of Israel take their democracy seriously – yesterday saw the highest turnout in 26 years, with 77.7 per cent of voters going to the polls. Votes are still being counted, and there’s a slim chance Eisenkot’s bloc could pull ahead again.
在接下来的几天里，内塔尼亚胡将试图在实行比例代表制的这个国家里，凑齐控制议会所需的61个席位，其联合政府的面貌可能会发生变化。
And over the next few days, as Netanyahu attempts to gather the requisite 61 seats required for control of the Knesset in this country of proportional representation, the look of his coalition may change.
艾森科特甚至可能加入，将政府拉回中间路线，甚至有传言称一个阿拉伯政党可能会提供支持。但就目前而言，内塔尼亚胡似乎完成了他迄今为止最伟大的逃脱。
Eisenkot may even join him to bring the government back towards the centre, and there’s even talk that one Arab party could prop it up. But, for now, it looks like Netanyahu has pulled off his greatest escape yet.