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Jerusalem: Israel plans to allow travel for those Palestinian Americans from the occupied Gaza Strip who meet security criteria, Reuters reported on Monday.
According to the report, the decision will come into force by September 15, 2023.
As part of a pilot program that began on July 20, Gil Bringer, Israel’s VWP project manager, revealed that the measure will effectively align Gaza Americans’ living standards with those of Palestinian Americans from the occupied West Bank.
Bringer claimed that around 2,500 Palestinian Americans have crossed Israel’s borders and a similar number have entered or exited the occupied West Bank since Israel started its pilot program to permit entry of all American citizens, including Palestinian Americans, in an effort to join the US visa waiver program.
In July, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who was in Washington at the time, and US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides signed a “reciprocity agreement” to allow American citizens the ability to freely enter Israel.
Under the reciprocity agreement, Israel is instructed to allow Palestinian Americans living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza to enter Israel.
This post was last modified on August 8, 2023 9:16 pm