JERUSALEM: Israel eased travel for Palestinian Americans from the Gaza Strip on Monday as part of final preparations for a deal enabling Israelis to enter the United States without visas, Israeli and US officials said.

As a condition for its accession to the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), Israel has since July 20 loosened access through its borders, and in and out of the occupied West Bank, for Palestinian Americans in a pilot period.

The deadline for Israel to show compliance with the US conditions is Sept 30. If successful, it expects to be incorporated in the VWP by November — a respite for relations strained by disputes over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reforms and policies on the Palestinians.

Gaza, whose ruling Hamas are on Israeli and US terrorism blacklists and whose borders are blockaded by Israel and Egypt, had been excluded from the pilot. That stirred protests by Palestinian Americans and US calls for a change in policy.

Israel’s Interior Ministry said that, as of Monday, Palestinian Americans living in Gaza and who are not deemed security threats are able to enter Israel on “B2” tourist visas, which also gives them the option of flying out of its airports.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2023