3,000 Arabs take Israeli citizenship

3,000 Arabs take Israeli citizenship

JERUSALEM (AFP): About 3,000 Palestinians living in East
Jerusalem applied for and were granted Israeli citizenship in
1994, an Interior Ministry spokesman said yesterday.

The ministry accepted 1,075 requests last year compared with
612 in 1993 and 293 in 1990. One request can cover several
members of the same family.

Israeli citizenship provides greater freedom of movement both
within the country and abroad for Jerusalem Arabs who are
otherwise classed as "permanent residents".

Palestinians have to prove they have lived in Jerusalem for
three of the previous five years, have a clean record and speak
basic Hebrew to become Israeli citizens. Some 155,000
Palestinians live in Jerusalem which has a population of 567,000.