Washington, DC – The administration of US President Joe Biden is set to allow Israeli citizens to travel visa-free to the United States, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has said, despite concerns about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian- and Arab-American travellers.
In a social media post on Monday, Cohen said Israel’s looming acceptance into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was “great news” for the country.
Cohen said that, “as we promised”, Israel would enter the programme in November.
The United States government has not formally announced Israel will be joining the VWP, but State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that a decision would be made in the next days.
That was echoed by a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who told Al Jazeera in an email on Monday afternoon: “We have nothing to announce publicly at this time, but DHS and the State Department will make a final determination in the coming days.”
The prospect of Israel’s entry into the VWP has faced widespread condemnation from Arab-American civil rights advocates.
Article from www.aljazeera.com