Will US allow visa-free travel for Israel? Foreign Minister clears the air

WASHINGTON - Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has said with a definitive confirmation that the United States is set to allow Israeli citizens to travel visa-free to the United States.

The comments came despite concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian and Arab-American travelers; however, in a social media post on Monday, Cohen said Israel’s acceptance into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was “great news” for the country.

Cohen continued that, “as we promised”, Israel would enter the program in November.

On the other hand, the Biden administration has not formally announced anything regarding Israel joining the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller as well as a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said a decision in this regard would be made soon.

The news regarding Israel’s entry into the program has invited criticism and Arab-American civil rights advocates are taking aim at the United States for liberty, if granted.

Countries in the VWP must allow visa-free travel for American citizens in reciprocity for a similar easing of visa requirements for their own nationals traveling to the US.

At present, scores of US and other foreign nationals of Palestinian and Arab descent are routinely denied entry by Israeli authorities as they control all access to the occupied Palestinian territories.

In 2019, a controversy spiked when Israel barred US Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting the country and the occupied Palestinian territories, citing “their boycott activities against Israel”.

Although US officials have pledged that in order to be accepted into the VWP, Israel would have to treat Americans equally, rights advocates are skeptical about whether Israel would live up to its promises.

In July, US and Israeli officials signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at facilitating Israel’s entry into the program but the contents of the document allow Israel to deny entry to Americans citing “legitimate security concerns”, a provision which can be exploited anytime.

Moreover, it is still not clear whether US citizens in Gaza would be able to leave the besieged territory under the new regulations or otherwise.