VOA慢速英语：更多耶路撒冷巴勒斯坦人寻求以色列国籍

Most Palestinians living in East Jerusalemwant the area to become the capital of a future Palestinian state. So, for many years, Palestinians there have rejected the idea of becoming Israeli citizens. But, that situation is changing.

大多数居住在东耶路撒冷的巴勒斯坦人希望该地区能够成为未来巴勒斯坦国的首都。因此,多年来,那里的巴勒斯坦人拒绝成为以色列公民。但是,这种情况正在发生变化。

Today, more and more Palestinians are seeking Israeli citizenship. Many say they do it because they feel they must.

如今,越来越多的巴勒斯坦人正在寻求以色列国籍。许多人说，他们这样做是因为他们觉得自己别无选择。

Growing Number of E. Jerusalem Palestinians Seek Israeli Citizenship

The Reuter news service spoke with one Palestinian teacher who asked not to be identified. She said, "I have a bad feeling because I would like to have the passport of my country as a Jerusalemite, as a Palestinian. So I should have a Palestinian passport. But unfortunately, I cannot get one. Instead, I got something that will only connect me more to Jerusalem."

路透社采访了一位不愿公开身份的巴勒斯坦老师。她说，“我有一种不好的感受，因为作为一个耶路撒冷人、作为一个巴勒斯坦人，我希望有自己国家的护照。我应该有一个巴勒斯坦护照。但不幸的是，我却没有。相反，我拥有的只会把我与耶路撒冷联系的更紧密。”

Some Palestinians say that full citizenship will help them get better jobs and other benefits. Others disagree, like Ghassan Nofal, of East Jerusalem. He said, "For someone who has children...a house, a business and all these things, the citizenship could never help. If they give us a passport and take away our IDs, it is the same for me." visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

一些巴勒斯坦人表示，合格的公民身份将帮助他们获得更好的工作及其他福利。但有些人却不这样认为，如东耶路撒冷的加桑·诺法尔（Ghassan Nofal）。他说：“对于拥有孩子、房子以及企业的人而言，公民身份根本毫无用处。如果他们给我们护照，但是收走我们的身份证，对我来说是一样的。

It is not all about benefits. The homes of some Palestinians have been separated from the rest of Jerusalemfor the past 10 years. Israel built a wall around them after a number of suicide bombings. Those Palestinians fear they may lose Jerusalem residency as a result.

这并非完全关于福利。一些巴勒斯坦人的房屋与耶路撒冷其他地区分割已超过十年。在一些列自杀式爆炸袭击事件后，以色列围绕它们建立一堵墙。这些巴基斯坦人担心他们可能会失去耶路撒冷居住权。

Israel's Interior Ministry keeps records of Palestinian passport applications. Reuters says there were 434 passport requests for the year 2012-2013. Israeli officials approved 189 of them. The news agency said most of the rest are still being processed.

以色列内政部记录了巴勒斯坦人申请护照人数。路透社表示，2012到2013年间，共有434份护照申请，其中189份获得了以色列官方批准。路透社表示，其余的大部分仍在处理中。

Amnon Ramon is a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

阿姆农·拉蒙（Amnon Ramon）就职于耶路撒冷以色列研究所。

He said, "We are indeed witnessing an increase in the number of East Jerusalemites who have permanentresidency status in the state of Israelwho are seeking Israeli citizenship. The question of how big this increase is - is debatable."

他说，“我们确实目睹了那些拥有以色列永久居留权的东耶路撒冷人开始寻求以色列公民身份的人数有所增加，但其增加幅度值得商榷。

Palestinian officials pushing for a state that would include East Jerusalem are concerned.

巴勒斯坦官员正在推动建立一个包括东耶路撒冷的国家，这让人们感到担忧。

Khalil Tafakji is a former member of the Palestinian negotiating team. He said, "There is a big risk that if the situation continues, what will the Palestinians negotiate about? They want to negotiate about land - they already lost the land. They want to negotiate for the population and the population is being lost."

哈利勒·塔法基（Khalil Tafakji）是巴勒斯坦谈判小组的前成员。他说，“如果这种情况持续下去，有很大风险，巴勒斯坦人还谈判什么呢？他们要谈判土地– 但已经失去了土地。他们要谈判人口，而人口正在流失。”

The demographic effect could be even wider, they argue, in considering the future children of Palestinians who become Israeli. Those boys and girls will be born Israeli citizens. Officials in Jerusalem deny that the demographics will affect Israel's negotiations with Palestinians.

他们认为，在考虑到成为以色列人的巴勒斯坦人其下一代方面，人口方面的影响可能会更深远，他们未来的儿子或女儿生下来就是以色列公民。耶路撒冷官员否认人口问题将会影响以色列同巴勒斯坦人的谈判。

I'm Jim Tedder.

VOA's Zlatica Hoke reported on this story from Washington. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect

application– n. a formal and usually written request for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, etc.)

residency– n. legal permission to live in a place

status– n. the official position of a person or thing according to the law

demographic– adj. of or relating to the study of changes that occur in large groups of people over a period of time : of or relating to demography