Israel’s foreign and defense ministries have loosened the rules pertaining to the entry into Israel of U.S. citizens of Palestinian origin and those who are dual citizens of countries that are considered enemies of Israel, such as Syria and Iran.
Such U.S. citizens will no longer need to undergo an additional security check by the Israeli consulate in their country. Palestinians with U.S. citizenship will be able to enter and leave Israel via Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion International Airport rather than the Allenby bridge crossing from Jordan.
The rules were issued in an effort to satisfy demands by the United States that in turn would admit Israel to the American visa waiver program – permitting Israelis to enter the United States without obtaining visitors’ visas in advance.
The Americans have demanded that American citizens be permitted to freely enter Israel, without discriminating among them based on their backgrounds.
Currently, American citizens of Palestinian, Syrian or Iranian origin undergo separate security questioning prior to their arrival in Israel via Israeli diplomatic offices near where they live before they are permitted to board a flight to Israel. Nevertheless, if there is specific intelligence information indicating that particular passengers constitute a security risk, they will be notified when they are about to board that they are being denied boarding. They will also be provided a letter of explanation and information regarding how to appeal the decision.
A separate rule, which is being administered through Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, applies to Americans of Palestinian background. It provides that U.S. passport holders whose names appear as Palestinian residents of the West Bank on Israel’s population registry will be given 90-day tourist visas to enter Israel via an international border crossing “unless there is an individual suspicion in their cases regarding a security issue.”
In practice, this means that West Bank Palestinians with American citizenship can enter and leave Israel via Ben-Gurion International Airport rather than using the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan, which is how most West Bank Palestinians go abroad.
The new rule is more restrictive, however, when it comes to American citizens who live in the Gaza Strip. They will continue to be required to enter and leave through the Allenby crossing and will need to obtain advance permission at least 45 days in advance from Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Such requests, the rules state, “will be considered and approved subject to security approval.”
Last week, Haaretz reported that in private deliberations, Israeli security and legal authorities warned that some of the conditions that the United States was requiring for Israel’s admission to the visa-waiver program could harm Israel’s security. The meetings were attended by representatives from the Foreign Ministry and other ministries as well as from security entities.
The participants were presented with the conditions contained in the agreement that was being developed with the Biden administration. Some of those in attendance indicated concern over provisions that they said they had not been previously aware of.
U.S. officials from the State Department and Homeland Security have reiterated that Israel does not yet meet the requirements for entry into the program as recently as this past week.
“At this time Israel does not meet all of the Visa Waiver Program eligibility requirements. We support steps that would be beneficial for the U.S. and Israel. One such step is working together for Israel to fulfill all the requirements of the Visa Waiver Program. But that’s not where we are today,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Source : Haaretz
