According to authorities, the Biden administration is scheduled to declare on Wednesday that it will accept Israel into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), granting Israeli nationals entry without a visa starting on November 30.
The decision marks a victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government, whose ties with Washington have been strained over its plans to restructure the court and its policy toward the Palestinians. Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated on Monday that the decision was expected.
Washington needs countries to meet requirements on counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security, and border management in order to be admitted to the program that grants visitors a 90-day visa-free stay.
All US travelers must be treated equally by all countries, regardless of the other passports they may possess.
For Israel, this entails granting Palestinian Americans unrestricted access to its airports and during their travels through the occupied Palestinian territories.
With reference to what they claim are decades of discriminatory treatment of Arab Americans and harassment at Israel’s borders, some Palestinians have protested against Israel’s admission into the VWP.
Israel has facilitated Palestinian Americans’ access to its borders and the Israeli-occupied West Bank during a trial period that began on July 20.
According to a US official, there are between 45,000 and 60,000 Palestinian Americans residing in the West Bank. According to an Israeli official, the number is actually closer to 70,000–90,000 Palestinian Americans globally, of which 15,000–20,000 live in the West Bank.
With the addition of Croatia in 2021, there are currently 40 countries in the VWP, with more being joined on a sporadic basis.
On September 8, Secretary of State Antony Blinken received a letter from a group of fifteen US senators expressing grave concerns that Israel was not treating US citizens equally.
In an attempt to prevent Israel from joining the program, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
Due to procedural issues, a US judge in Detroit refused an emergency motion, stating that the department was not given enough notice of the complaint.
The White House said in August 2021 that it was collaborating with Israel to get the country included to the Visa Waiver Program.
