Tel Aviv – Ma’an – The United States of America announced, on Wednesday, that it will exempt Israelis from entry visas to its territory, and thus Tel Aviv will join the American visa exemption program.
This came in a joint announcement by US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, in which they confirmed that Israel has met all the required conditions and joined the list of countries exempt from entry visas.
It is planned that the exemption for Israelis from entry visas will come into effect at the end of next November. The procedure stipulates registration on the ESTA website 72 hours before traveling to the United States and allows a stay of 90 days for tourist and commercial purposes.
The list, in which Israel is ranked 41st, includes: Germany, France, Britain, Singapore, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and South Korea.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday evening that “the United States is expected to announce this week the abolition of the (mandatory) visa to the United States, and Israeli citizens who hold a ‘biometric’ passport will be able to travel to the United States, with a reduced electronic visa.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen considered that “Israel’s accession to the visa exemption program is a political achievement and good news for all Israeli citizens,” adding that “visa exemption will contribute to strengthening the economy in general, and tourism in particular, while reducing bureaucracy and costs.” “.
Israel has approved American conditions in order to include it in the American visa exemption program, including that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank who hold American citizenship will be able to enter and leave the country through Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, and stay in the country for 90 days as tourists.
Israel claims that the number of Gazans to whom these facilities apply, claiming that they “do not pose a security threat,” amounts to only 200 people. These facilities apply to Palestinian refugees from outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip who hold American citizenship.
A memorandum of understandings was signed between the United States and Israel regarding these facilities for the Palestinians on July 20. The Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) had opposed these facilities for the Palestinians, until a “formula agreed upon by the Israeli security services” was reached, according to what the Ynet website reported on Tuesday.
Source: Maan News Agency