The officials also said President Joe Biden is seeking compromise between the coalition and opposition on future bills relating to the judicial reform.

By:  World Israel News Staff – worldisraelnews.com

A senior official at the National Security Council, which advises the U.S. president, said on Monday that Israel’s entry into the coveted visa waiver program was looking “promising.”

Israel launched a pilot program this month easing Palestinian Americans’ travel in and out of the  country with the aim of being accepted into the VWP at the end of September.

The move would allow Israelis to receive immediate entry to the U.S. for 90 days – forgoing a grueling application process that includes a consular interview, a hefty fee and long waits.

Sutton, who assisted Nides on efforts to gain Israel entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, cited the announcement during Herzog’s visit that Washington and Jerusalem had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a pilot program.

“I was doubtful, to be honest, just because the list of requirements is so onerous—that go way beyond reciprocity, like data-sharing,” Sutton, who served as chief of staff to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides, said.

“But it is looking much more promising,” she added.

Terry Wolff, the council’s senior director for Middle East and North Africa who also took part in the briefing, said that President Joe Biden was seeking compromise on future bills relating to the judicial reform.

“Some folks will decide based on what they’ve heard—and the fact that a good number of folks boycotted the vote—that it’s all over,” Wolff said. “But I think the president’s argument and his perspective has been that it’s really important that the sides get together, that they talk and that discussion should not be over.”

Israel has sought entry into the U.S. visa waiver program for years, but Washington has long been reluctant to extend the privilege to Israel given its restrictions on Palestinian-Americans looking to visit the West Bank, as was reported by the Wall Street Journal. The updated travel policies, the first step toward visa-free travel for Israeli passport holders, will be announced Wednesday.

The WSJ also reported that the move will give Israel until September 30th to implement a pilot program under which Israel will grant equal treatment to Palestinian-, Iranian- and Arab-Americans looking to travel to Israel, U.S. officials said.

U.S. travelers don’t need a visa to visit Israel for 90 days or fewer. As was reported by the WSJ, about 450,000 Israelis visit the U.S. every year, according to the U.S. government, a number that is expected to rise if the requirement for an entry visa is lifted.

“Israel will announce changes to their policies to ensure equal treatment to all U.S. citizen travelers without regard to national origin, religion or ethnicity,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said last Wednesday, adding that a process would begin whereby the U.S. will monitor Israel’s compliance until the end of September to determine whether it merits admission into the program, according to the WSJ report.

The U.S. had long rejected too many Israeli applications for U.S. visas for Israel to be eligible for the visa waiver program, the WSJ report said.

The updated travel policies would permit U.S. citizens to travel to Israel via all ports of entry, including Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, and would apply to all U.S. citizens, officials said.