Sources said that the matter is progressing, and the Americans are satisfied. “We’re optimistic,” the sources stated.
Several sources involved in the Israeli effort to join the US Visa Waiver Program say that the matter is progressing, Amihai Stein reported on Kan News.
Israel hopes to soon join the program, which would allow Israelis to enter the US without going through the complex process of receiving a visa.
The sources said that the matter is progressing, and the Americans are satisfied. “We’re optimistic,” the sources stated.
The American delegation is currently writing the report on the pilot program that allows Palestinians who are American citizens to pass through Israel ahead of a final decision in September.
To join the program, Israel must prove that the rate of entry denials sinks below 3%.
In addition, Israel must grant the Americans access to its criminal records for background checks. The two sides must also agree to a mutuality that would allow all Americans to visit Israel without a visa.
On Wednesday, Reuters, citing an Israeli official, reported that more than 2,000 Palestinian Authority-American dual citizens have traveled into or through Israel since it eased conditions for them at border crossings as part of the bid to achieve a visa waiver deal with the United States.
An Israeli official said that in the first week of the six-week pilot, 1,100 Palestinian Arabs with American citizenship had come through its “international crossings”, i.e., Ben Gurion Airport and the Jordanian border. A similar amount entered Israel from Judea and Samaria.
Source: Arutz 7
