Noga Tarnopolsky

Special to USA TODAY

JERUSALEM — President Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has inflamed the Middle East, but it has not deterred thousands of Palestinians who live here from wanting to be Israeli citizens.

Since Trump’s declaration on Dec. 7, a long line of Palestinians seeking citizenship curls out daily from the Israeli Interior Ministry’s office in East Jerusalem, which is predominantly Arab and claimed by Palestinian leaders as the future capital of their own independent state.

The line stems from a social media news prank that claimed Israel was “imposing” citizenship on all of the city's Arab residents, who make up about 37% of Jerusalem's population.

The prank exploited real-life aspirations of Palestinians, most of whom still have not been granted citizenship and yearn for a better life here.

Ten years ago, it was taboo for Palestinians in Jerusalem to request Israeli citizenship, but now it is the norm, with thousands of new requests each year, accordiing to Israeli Interior Ministry figures. The wait time is about three years.

Increasing numbers of East Jerusalem Palestinians are choosing to live in Jewish neighborhoods. Separately, greater numbers of local Palestinians are choosing to send their children to Arabic-language schools using Israeli curricula.

Between the 2016 and the 2017 school years, there was a 14% increase in Arab students studying for Israeli high school enrollment exams, according to municipal statistics. Parents want their children to be able to access Israeli universities.

“It has nothing to do with love for Israel or Zionism,” Khaled Abu Toameh, a Palestinian affairs analyst and native-born citizen from northern Israel, said of the rush to become citizens in response to the fake report. "Palestinians want to retain their rights and privileges, so what happened? People were thrilled and made a rush on Israeli passports.”

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“Damn fake news,” said Bilal Quaisi, a Jerusalem-born Palestinian who was disappointed when he learned the rumor was false. “Believe me, all my family is talking about this,” added the founder and CEO of a tech firm based in Amman, Jordan.

Queisi’s wife and children are Jordanian and barred from moving to Jerusalem.

For the past 14 years, Toameh has lived in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev, which the rest of the world calls an illegal settlement of 40,000 residents.

Only a few hundred Palestinians live in Pisgat Zeev, but in the adjacent Jewish neighborhood of French Hill, up to 20% of the residents are estimated to be Palestinians.

“I wanted a decent quality of life. I wanted to pay my municipal tax and get the services I deserve. I wanted my kids to be able to order Domino's Pizza and not have to hear that the delivery people were too scared to bring it over," Toameh said. "I wanted peace and quiet. It is completely not a political statement.”

Palestinian Ahmad Aljoni, 22, spent a recent Friday tending to the frenetic customers at his family-owned bakery, Al-Amin, considered a Jerusalem institution open 24 hours a day.

Muslims emerging from Friday prayers competed with Jews getting ready for the Sabbath to purchase sacks of whole wheat or white pita breads, Jerusalem’s famous elongated sesame bagels or small rye loaves.

Aljoni said he was not surprised that Jerusalem has remained an oasis of calm amid the international storm that followed Trump’s announcement, which broke with decades of U.S. policy that the future of Jerusalem be decided in peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.

“Nobody here wants any problems just because leaders of Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Trump keep saying ‘Jerusalem’ all the time. It has nothing to do with us,” he said. “Everybody is angry at Trump, but no one wants a problem.”

“There are many reasons Jerusalem's streets are not responsive to the calls of Palestinian leaders for massive protests or civil disobedience,” Toameh said. "Palestinians I speak to say it is not worth it for us to sacrifice our quality of life for what this dummy said."

“East Jerusalem residents compare their situation with that of the West Bank or Gaza and think that our situation is relatively good,” Toameh said. “People are asking, 'What’s new?' Palestinians have been angry at the United States for its pro-Israel bias for 50 years.”