American passport holders with Palestinian papers and their families in Gaza demand equal treatment by the U.S. administration through a reciprocal deal with Israel aimed at securing visa-free travel for American and Israeli citizens.
While Israel faces a deadline until September 30th to qualify its citizens for entry into the United States without visas, it claims to have eased access through its main airport and the borders of the occupied West Bank for American Palestinians, allowing over 2,000 individuals to cross.
In response to questions regarding this matter, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated over the course of three days that Israel must treat all Americans equally, including those in Gaza, as part of the visa waiver program for Israelis. However, several American Palestinians with identification papers in Gaza reported being denied entry into Israel.
Hani Al-Madhoun, a Palestinian-American visiting Gaza, told Reuters, "As a Palestinian with an identification card in Gaza, I felt disappointed because it discriminates against people like me. We are specifically excluded from benefiting from this program."
The strict restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians have become a test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which must demonstrate that it treats all American passport holders equally, regardless of any other nationality they may hold.
The American observers are in Israel this week to assess the conditions at its border crossings for American Palestinians discreetly, as part of the U.S. attempt to establish Israel's commitment to the required standards in treating American passport holders equally in exchange for the visa waiver program. According to four U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters, the delegation visited the Israeli immigration office on Sunday and Ben Gurion Airport on Monday, then toured inspection points on the borders of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified this week in response to a question, "For the visa waiver program, Israel must extend the new policies it has presented for American citizens to include those living in Gaza. There isn't much else to clarify about it. We have made it clear, publicly and privately, that the visa waiver program should apply to all American citizens in Israel, whether they are in the West Bank or Gaza."
He added, "We understand that there may be different procedures for Americans in the West Bank due to the difference in the security situation there. But we have made it clear that the program should also apply to Americans in Gaza, and as far as what Israel needs to do to implement the program now, that is something we fully expect from them."
As for whether Israel must do so before the September deadline, Miller said, "I would say we expect them (Israelis) to make those changes. We are in ongoing talks - we are in talks with them about this issue now, and it is one of the requirements of the program
