US admits Israel to visa waiver program, deal includes Gaza Americans

US officials confirmed Wednesday that Israel has qualified for the American visa waiver program, enabling Israeli nationals to travel to the United States without pre-demanding a tourist-entry visa. 

The Biden adminstation officials called Israel a "key US partner and ally" in a call with reporters.

"This program not only benefits Israel in the United States, but also [American] citizens who live in the West Bank and Gaza can now visit Israel visa-free," they said, explaining that the decision came "not as a favor, but because it benefits both US and Israeli interests."

As part of the negotiations, Israel agreed to ease travel restrictions for Palestinian-Americans from Gaza and the West Bank.

"The reciprocity requirement was particularly important, given a history of disparate travel experiences facing US citizens going to and from Israel," the officials explained.

They commented on the pilot period for the program, in which Israel allowed Palestinian-Americans in Gaza and the West Bank to travel: "Since July 20, when Israel initially issued its updated travel guidance, over 100,000 US citizens, including tens of thousands of Palestinian-Americans, have successfully entered Israel visa free."

Israel had sought to enter the program for decades. One of its most difficult hurdles was lowering the rate of visa refusals to under 3%, a target it met in January. The Knesset also passed a series of laws enabling Israeli authorities to share with American counterparts information about expected travelers before boarding as well as data about Israeli criminals and criminal behavior patterns.

The US administration has always conditioned Israel joining the visa waiver program on equal treatment at airports for all its citizens, including those holding dual citizenship.

Palestinians have always encountered difficulties traveling into and out of the West Bank and Gaza, which Israel has occupied since 1967. For years Israeli security agencies insisted on multiple security checks and travel limitations for Palestinians, even those holding dual citizenship. The government's decision to remove these limitations was made despite objections by the Israeli security brass.

For the pilot program, Israel changed its entry regulations for Palestinian-Americans in two phases. At the beginning of July it authorized them to enter the West Bank via Israel's Ben Gurion airport, and then at the beginning of September, it authorized Palestinian-Americans to travel to the Gaza Strip via Israel.

Sabine Haddad, spokesperson for the Israel Population and Immigration Authority, told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that 6,070 Palestinian-Americans have entered Israel since Israel changed entry regulations in July. She noted that only 13 Palestinian-Americans were refused entry, 10 of whom had asked to enter Gaza before Israel changed its regulations to include the Strip in August.

According to Haaretz, the Israeli security establishment estimates that tens of thousands of Palestinians with American citizenship are living in the West Bank.

Eytan Gilboa, a professor at Bar Ilan University, is widely regarded as an expert on Israel-US relations. He told Al-Monitor that Israel has been for years hoping to be admitted to the program, given its special relationship with the United States.

He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will claim credit even though his record is controversial on the issue.

“Netanyahu will surely take credit for this achievement even though while he was in the opposition [in 2022], he voted against a bill that was needed for the program to be implemented. With this, the handling of the process was delayed and Israel was almost disqualified," Gilboa noted.

Gilboa explained that the real credit should go to Ayelet Shaked, saying, “Serving at the time as interior minister [2021-2022], she brought about the required reduction in the rejection rate of visa applications."

He argued, “This does not indicate that the relations between Netanyahu’s government and the Biden administration are getting better. The truth is that relations were and still are in a deep and ongoing crisis due to the judicial overhaul plan and the deteriorating relations between Israel and the Palestinians.”

US Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) criticized the move on Thursday. A statement from them read that while they support Israel’s candidacy, they feel it did not meet the requirements on the entry of Palestinian-Americans.

It read, “To date, Israel has failed to meet the ‘Blue is Blue’ requirement. Adherence to this important American tenet of reciprocity and equal treatment of all US citizens is critical to the integrity of the Visa Waiver Program, and we are deeply concerned with the Administration’s decision to move forward in violation of that principle."

The statement went on, “We will keep pressing for answers as to how the US government will ensure that Israel ultimately comes into full compliance with VWP requirements as well as what mechanisms the U.S. has to monitor the implementation of one system for all U.S. citizen travelers by May 1, 2024.”

This developing story has been updated since first publication.