AMMAN — Starting in October, Israelis entering the
US will beexempt from needing a visa to enter the country. The visa exemption program
aims to ease travel for Palestinians with American citizenship from the West
Bank to the US. This initiative will allow Palestinians to travel to the US via
Ben Gurion Airport in Central Israel and Ramon Airport in Southern Israel.
Without any obstacles.
اضافة اعلان
Currently, Palestinians, regardless of their additional
nationality, must leave the West Bank and reenter it through the
Allenby Crossing if they wish to travel to the United States, i24 News reported.
However, around 30,000 Palestinians are annually allowed to travel to the US
for humanitarian purposes.
Conditions set by the US
To be accepted into the visa waiver program,
Israel must meet a condition set by the US. This condition demands that American citizens,
regardless of their origin, be
permitted to enter Israel freely and travel
through the country without being subjected to discriminatory treatment during
security checks. The US has made it clear that failure to meet this condition
will result in Israel being excluded from the exemption program, which is
scheduled to take effect in October.
In theory, Israel has the right to individually deny entry
to
Palestinians holding American citizenship if there are concerns related to
criminal activities, security, immigration, or health. However, the key issue
lies in ensuring compliance with the American requirement for
equal treatment of American and Israeli citizens regarding their free entry and exit.
Avoidance of discrimination
Recently, members of the
US Congress have urged the
administration not to approve Israel's entry into the visa waiver program
unless Israel commits to avoiding any discrimination against Palestinians with
American citizenship.
Senior officials at the US embassy have expressed concerns
about the limited time available for Israel to fulfill the necessary
requirements related to data sharing and information systems across various
government entities. These systems need to be developed, implemented, and tested
before the deadline.
If all the requirements are met, Israelis will be able to
travel to the US without a visa for tourism or business trips lasting less than
90 days starting from October 1.
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