In a move that's making some scratch their heads and others scratch their visas, Israel has announced its plan to welcome Palestinian Americans from Gaza into its visa waiver pilot programme. The catch? Well, Palestinian American rights advocates aren't exactly doing the happy dance over this one.
Gil Bringer, Israel's self-proclaimed visa guru, spilled the beans about the plan. Apparently, Palestinian Americans from Gaza, the ones who meet the "security criteria" (cue the dramatic music), will get a special shuttle bus ride to the West Bank, then a roundabout trip to Jordan, and finally, they can spread their wings and fly off to foreign lands. What an itinerary!
Now, if you're thinking of packing your bags already, hold on to your sunscreen. This whole extravaganza kicks off on September 15th, when these "special" Palestinian Americans will be granted the golden ticket, or rather, a "B2" tourist visa, and they can prance into Israel through the main airport. Fancy, huh?
But that's not all, folks! Israel is throwing a curveball into this magical adventure. They're also letting Palestinian Americans from abroad visit Gaza once a year, but there's a catch. You need to have a first-degree relative chilling in that "besieged enclave." Basically, you need to be part of the "in" crowd to get the invite.
Oh, and there's more. According to Bringer, the guy with all the visa wisdom, the original party date was September 22nd. But guess what? Israel is in a hurry to get this show on the road. As Bringer puts it, "if we can bring it forward further, we will." Someone's really excited, it seems!
Now, before you start booking that plane ticket, let's rewind a bit. This whole charade started when Israel decided to join the US visa waiver party. Around 2,500 Palestinian Americans decided to cross borders and test their luck. But, wait, there's a glitch. Advocacy groups are shaking their heads, saying that Israel's not-so-friendly treatment of Palestinians isn't going to fly, literally.
Ayah Ziyadeh, the advocacy director for Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP), chimed in, saying that Israel's playing a little game of "false promises" here. According to her, Israel's trying to charm its way into the US visa waiver club, but folks aren't buying it. The US is peeking over the fence, seeing if Palestinians and Arabs are getting the short end of the stick as usual.
So, what's the hurry, Israel? Why the rush to join the visa waiver VIP club? According to Zaha Hassan, a fancy fellow from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Israel's got a case of the deadline jitters. It's like they're trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle before the timer runs out. But the experts are worried that the puzzle might look a bit messy when they're done.
The big question here is: Will this pilot programme take off or crash land? Sure, it might sound like a dream come true for Palestinian Americans, but there's a sneaky suspicion that this whole thing is just smoke and mirrors. As Ziyadeh put it, "we don't believe that will be the case." It looks like Israel's trying to sell a vacation package with a twist, and not the good kind.
