U.S. says Israel has not met requirements to join Visa Waiver Program (msn.com)
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) –Israel has not met eligibility requirements to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected his country to join soon.
Netanyahu said earlier on Wednesday that new legislation meant Israel would join in September, and that Israel would in the coming months address outstanding requirements, which it did not detail.
It was unclear if Israel planned to change its approach to Palestinian-Americans.
State Department’s Patel:
“Participation in the VWP requires that Israel provide equal treatment and entry rights to all U.S. citizens and nationals, at Israel’s ports of entries and checkpoints, just as the United States would grant such visa-free travel privileges to Israeli citizen,” “This includes Palestinian-Americans, including those on the Palestinian Authority population registry.”
Before Netanyahu’s announcement, his national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said on Twitter that parliament was due to ratify the last of four bills “that will advance us toward getting the U.S. visa waiver for the citizens of Israel”.
