Israel to allow American-Palestinians from Gaza to fly through Ben Gurion Airport soon 

Officially, Israel will allow the Palestinians who carry US citizenship to fly through its international Ben Gurion Airport next month, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials. 

According to Israeli outlets, the sudden Israeli decision will start on September 15 as part of preparations to include Israel in the US visa waiver program.

Gil Bringer, deputy chief of Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, stated to Israeli outlets that the new measure will benefit Gazans who hold US citizenship for the first time in line with those of Palestinian Americans from the occupied West Bank as part of a pilot period launched in July.

The US embassy in Jerusalem issued guidance saying that "by September 15, additional procedures relevant to Gaza Strip residents will be published."

Last week, US-Palestinian citizens and their families in Gaza urged Washington to ensure they are included in a reciprocal deal with Israel to ensure visa-free travel for US citizens and Israelis.

Some 130 Palestinian Americans live in Gaza. However, they are prevented from accessing the Israeli facilities of airports to travel to other countries. 

Mohammed al-Ghalieny, a Gaza-based man, expressed his happiness about the new "Israeli measure" that would help him easily travel to the United States to meet his family for the first time in 15 years. 

"When Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza, I was forced to travel to the US through Rafah crossing, controlled by Egypt, where we were subjected to bad treatment even though we hold US citizenship," the 45-year-old father of two said to The New Arab. 

"I decided to give up all my hopes to travel through Egypt and wait for a reliable solution to our crises in Gaza," he added. "I know that neither America nor any other European countries will leave their citizens to suffer a lot."

"Once Israel implements its pledge, I will directly book a plane ticket to travel to America with my three children to meet my parents, brothers, and sisters," he said.  

Lubna al-Alami, another Gaza-based American-Palestinian woman, was not as optimistic as al-Ghalaieny, as she believes that "even though Israel allows us to fly through Ben Gurion, it will not treat us like Americans."

"Israel will deal with us as well as all Gazans and will put us under its security check for weeks before giving us the permit to pass Erez crossing and reach the airport," she stressed. 

Inside the airport, the woman opined, "I think we will also be treated as terrorists more than American citizens. The officers there will double-check our luggage before allowing us to reach the plane." 

She hopes that Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank would reach a real ceasefire agreement that would "benefit all Palestinians, not only those who carry foreign citizenships."

Since 2007, Israel imposed an illegal blockade on the coastal enclave, home to more than 2.3 million people. It launched five large-scale military wars against the territory under the pretext of curbing the rule of Hamas, an Islamist group that aims to end Israel someday.  

As a result, it prevented the Gazans from leaving the area for long years. However, following various indirect negotiations with Hamas, Israel eased its restrictions and allowed some Palestinian people to move between Gaza and the Palestinian West Bank only under humanitarian conditions. 

In 2021, following further understandings with Hamas, Israel allowed, for the first time in 15 years, thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza to enter the Israeli cities for work.