Israel grants visa-free entrance to nearly 6,800 Palestinian Americans in last 2 weeks

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has granted visa-free entrance to nearly 6,800 Palestinian Americans in the last two weeks, the state-run Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) said on Friday.

Since July 20, a day after signing a reciprocal agreement with the US, Israeli authorities have permitted 6,794 Palestinian Americans visa-free entrance through Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and the King Hussein Allenby border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.

US Ambassador Thomas Nides and Israeli President Isaac Herzog had signed a "reciprocity agreement" in Washington.

The visa-free entry is presently in the experimental phase and will last until September, the media outlet said.

Palestinian Americans from the West Bank have been allowed so far, and those from the Gaza Strip will be granted visa-free entry by the end of August, it added.

"At the end of this month (August), the last stage of these procedures will begin, and the most complex for the Israeli security services ... which is the entry of Americans of Palestinian origin from the Gaza Strip.

"According to estimates, between 500 and 600 Americans live in the Gaza Strip, and they are supposed to be treated like any other American when traveling through Ben Gurion International Airport," it said.

Americans of Palestinian origin have long complained about the roadblocks erected by Israel at border crossings to the West Bank or Gaza Strip, as well as within Israel itself.

In exchange for the visa waiver, the US recently requested that all of its citizens be treated equally, including those of Palestinian descent.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat