About a month ago, the US visa exemption went into effect, and since then Israelis who meet the requirements can fly to the country without the need to issue a visa. Part of the agreement includes freedom of movement for American citizens to and from Israel, including those living in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
In recent days, American officials have contacted the Prime Minister's Office in order to check the situation with the Israeli authorities, in order to ensure that there is no violation of the agreement. At this stage, Israeli officials clarify, the Americans have no intention of violating, freezing or canceling the visa exemption. One of the main things that Israel relies on is the fact that the visa exemption agreement contains a clause that excludes free passage – in the event of a closure.
The aforementioned clause has now come into effect, so there is a likelihood that Israel is not violating the visa exemption conditions, which means that the validity of the visa exemption granted to Israeli biometric passport holders last month is unlikely to be affected. However, the Americans continue to monitor this issue in order to ensure that the terms of the agreement between Israel and the United States are not violated.
The Coordinator of Activities in the Territories stated: "As far as Israel's international crossings are concerned, there is no change, and Palestinians with U.S. citizenship continue to enter Israel on a tourist visa (B1/B2).). From the moment Hamas launched a war on Israel, a full closure was imposed on the crossings from Judea and Samaria to Israel – for security reasons. Israel will allow the entry of Palestinians holding American passports for tourism purposes through crossings in the West Bank after the end of the closure, in accordance with the agreement signed between Israel and the United States."
The U.S. Embassy in Israel declined to comment.
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