A spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel , said that the US administration is considering exempting Israelis from visas, but Israel has not yet met the US conditions.

Vedant said, in response to a question by the "Al-Quds" dot-com correspondent, regarding the statements of the US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Naides, that an agreement is expected to be reached in this regard next summer, "I do not have any update to provide, but to repeat what I said earlier, is that we are looking at to Israel's future admission to the Visa Waiver Program as a matter of benefit to the United States and Israel."

Patel added, "We are continuing to work on this issue. We are continuing to work with our Israeli partners in order to meet all the requirements. But at this time, Israel does not meet all the eligibility requirements. To be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, Israel still has significant work to complete in A short time frame in order to meet all these requirements before the end of the fiscal year, i.e. September 30.”

“To be clear again, reciprocity of travel is a prerequisite for entry into this program. We demand equal treatment and freedom of travel for all United States citizens—regardless of national origin, religion, or race—who seek entry to or transit through Israel. ".

US Ambassador Nides told Jewish Insider that Israelis hoping to travel visa-free to the US could see progress on the issue as soon as next summer.

"It will probably be done, in July or August, when they do a review," Naides said.

According to the newspaper, his comments came hours after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that would allow for enhanced sharing of biometric information data between Israeli and US security agencies, a prerequisite for Israel's entry into the US Visa Waiver Program.

For decades, Israeli leaders have been pushing to add Israel to the visa-exempt countries to enter the United States.

It is reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, "Today we have important news for the citizens of Israel. As promised, the legislative requirements for obtaining exemptions from US visas have been completed. In the coming months, we will meet additional requirements, and in September 2023, it is expected to join The State of Israel is included in the list of countries exempt from US visas.