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.