US Ambassador Nides tells Israelis: Don’t thank Bibi for visa waiver

The U.S. ambassador stressed that the visa exemption, which is expected to be finalized in fall 2023, should not be framed as a victory for Netanyahu.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The Israeli government announced Wednesday that Israel has made major advances towards an agreement with the U.S. that would see citizens of both countries enjoy mutual visa-free travel.

Following a Knesset law which allows the Israeli police to share fingerprint and biometric criminal databases with American authorities, the possibility of a visa exemption is closer than ever, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

“Today, we have important news for the citizens of Israel. Just as we promised, the legislative requirements for receiving exemption from U.S. visas have been completed,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“In the coming months, we will meet additional requirements and in September 2023, the State of Israel is expected to join the list of countries that are exempt from U.S. visas,” he added.

But according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, the visa exemption will trigger a major change to the status quo regarding Palestinians departing from and arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Up until now, Palestinians – even those with American citizenship – have not been allowed to transfer through Ben-Gurion Airport if they are planning to visit Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria.

Allowing Palestinian-Americans to utilize the airport, regardless of their intention to visit PA enclaves, is one of the conditions for the visa exemption, Nides said.

“If you’re a Palestinian-American living in Detroit, you have to be able to go from Detroit through Ben Gurion [Airport] to Ramallah to visit grandma,” he told Jewish Insider.

“If you live in Ramallah and you’re a Palestinian-American, you have to be able to go to Ben Gurion and go visit grandma in Detroit. You would think that that’s just common sense, but that’s not what’s happened,” he said.

Nides did not acknowledge a long history of Palestinian air hijackings or the 1972 Lod Airport massacre perpetrated by Palestinians, which killed 24 people.

He added that “doing reciprocity means people will be treated the same… the devil’s in the details. We’re dead serious about this.”

The ambassador stressed that the visa exemption, which is expected to be finalized in fall 2023, should not be framed as a victory for Netanyahu.

“We’re not playing politics with this,” Nides said. “This has nothing to do with Bibi…This has to do with the Israeli people.”