Israel launched a pilot program today that will ease the entry of Palestinian-Americans into the Jewish state, a condition for Israel to be accepted into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Herzog, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Under Secretary Rob Silvers of the Homeland Security Department on Wednesday, setting the terms for an entry into the VWP.
The U.S. requires all VWP countries to enter into a reciprocity agreement for allowing entry and freedom of movement throughout each other’s country, and visa applications would have a similar amount of visa rejections, as well as an equally easy process to acquire the permission.
As part of the pilot program, Palestinian-Americans are now eligible for a 90-day travel pass. It’s a change from a previously drawn out bureaucratic process that they would encounter just to be able to travel to Israel, where they also experience higher-than-average rates of security inspections at the country’s airport.
The application process will go through the Israeli military liaison to the Palestinians, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). All Americans were now allowed to enter Israel through Ben Gurion airport and travel freely across the country, including in the West Bank. –i24 News
