Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that legislative requirements were met that will eventually end the requirement that Israelis must get US Visas to visit the United States. Netanyahu said additional US requirements will be met in the coming months.
“Today, we have important news for the citizens of Israel. Just as we promised, the legislative requirements for receiving exemption from US visas have been completed. 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 US visas.
“I thank coalition chairman Ofir Katz, National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana for advancing this project quickly and efficiently.”
One of those requirements is data sharing by the Israeli police to US authorities.
The US will be able to send fingerprint data of incoming Israeli travelers that arrive in the US, and the Israeli police will automatically send back police reports on the individuals.
What the minimum criterion for transferring information on Israeli citizens is unclear, as well as what exact Israeli police files and data on Israeli citizens that will be sent back to the US.
When Ayelet Shaked was Interior Minister, she was trying to limit the information sent to the US to a data flag.
