Most Palestinians living in East Jerusalem want 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别无选择。
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."
路透社采访了一位要求匿名的巴勒斯坦老师。她说，“我有一种不好的感受，因为我希望有我的国家护照。作为一个耶路撒冷人，作为一个巴勒斯坦人，我应该有一本巴勒斯坦护照。但不幸的是我没法得到。相反，我得到的东西只会把我跟耶路撒冷连接得更紧。”
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."
一些巴勒斯坦人表示，完整的公民身份能帮助他们得到更好的工作和其它福利。但有些人不这样认为，例如东耶路撒冷的加桑·诺法尔（Ghassan Nofal）。他说：“对于有孩子、房子和企业的这些人来说，公民身份根本帮不上忙。如果他们发给我们护照，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 Jerusalem for 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.
这并非完全是关于福利。一些巴勒斯坦人的房屋被从耶路撒冷郊区分开了十多年。以色列在一系列自杀炸弹袭击后围绕他们建了一堵墙。这些巴勒斯坦人担心他们可能会因此而失去耶路撒冷的居住权。
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的人数。路透社表示，2012年到2013年共有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，其它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 permanent residency status in the state of Israel who are seeking Israeli citizenship. The question of how big this increase is - is debatable."
他说，“我们确实看到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。增加幅度有多大这个问题仍待商榷。”
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，他们对此感觉担忧。
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，“如果情况持续下去有很大的风险，巴勒斯坦人还谈判什么呢？他们要谈判土地 - 他们已经失去了土地。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，考虑到成为以色列人的巴勒斯坦人未来的孩子生下来就是以色列公民，人口方面的影响可能会更深远。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.
我是吉姆·特德。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)