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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is admitting Israel into a select group of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel to the United States without getting a visa in advance.
The Department of Homeland Security administers the program, which currently allows citizens of 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for three months without visas.
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the agreement, after more than a decade of work, “will enhance our two nations’ collaboration on counterterrorism, law enforcement and our other common priorities” and make the allies more secure.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a joint statement with Mayorkas, cited enhanced “freedom of movement for U.S. citizens, including those living in the Palestinian Territories or traveling to and from them.”
It comes as Netanyahu is facing months of mass protests against his proposed remake of Israel’s judicial system that critics say will make the country less democratic.
But even before the announcement was official, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said it had filed a federal lawsuit aiming to stop Israel from being allowed into the program.
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