The United States has warned that Israel is violating the visa waiver program by not permitting entry into the country of Palestinian Americans living in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
According to an American official, the Biden administration is planning to give Israel time to find a solution on the matter.
However, the official did not reveal whether the administration will take measures if Israel does not permit the entry of Palestinian Americans into its territory, VisaGuide.World reports.
While the US authorities have not made an official statement on the measures that could be taken, Axios explains that a continued violation of the agreement by the Israeli government could lead to the suspension of the privileges for Israelis, who currently do not need a visa to enter the US.
Not long after the Hamas attack, the government of Israel decided to close the West Bank for security purposes. The same also banned the entry of Palestinians living there, including some 100,000 Palestinian workers who entered the country every day.
According to Axios, the decision to close the West Bank also affected tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans who in recent months have been able to enter Israel restriction-free due to conditions imposed with the visa waiver agreement.
Taking into account the current situation, US and Israeli officials revealed that the US Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, had a meeting with the national security adviser of Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, last week.
During the meeting, Ambassador Lew said that they were concerned about the restrictions and the same stressed that Israel is violating the visa waiver agreement.
On the other hand, Hanegbi said that the measure was taken for safety purposes and assured that the authorities would look into the issue as soon as possible.
The visa waiver program with Israel was set to enter into force at the end of this month. However, due to the Hamas attack, the US decided to allow visa-free travel for Israelis from October 19, 2023.
For a month now, all nationals of Israel meeting the requirements have been able to enter the US without having to obtain a visa beforehand.
In line with the rules of the visa waiver program, Israelis can stay in the US visa-free for up to 90 days. However, they need to make sure that they hold a biometric passport.