Israelis could reportedly lose their right to enter the US without a visa due to security lapses that have been revealed after the thwarted terror attack on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv recently.
A US delegation will come to Israel in the coming days to review local authorities’ compliance with the security requirements of the US Visa Waiver Program, Channel 12 reported Tuesday. Currently, the delegation is in the United Arab Emirates, where it is examining aviation security procedures, the network said.
Israel joined the program in 2023, allowing citizens to travel to the US with an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form, rather than the lengthier process of applying for a visa. The delegation will reportedly examine whether Israel is complying with the conditions agreed upon at the time.
The review is part of the ongoing fallout from the September 30 terror attack on flydubai Flight 1073, in which the copilot, Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the plane’s captain, Smit Machchhar. He allegedly aimed to crash the plane and kill the approximately 180 people on board, the vast majority of them Israelis. Machchhar and several Israelis succeeded in thwarting the attack and subduing al-Hammami.
The Transportation Ministry and security establishment have faced heavy criticism in the wake of the attack for failing to monitor pilots and crew from hostile countries who flew into Israel. Some 1,240 such aircrew members have entered the country over the past year, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday, which cited leaked remarks from a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
In the case of the attacking copilot, the lapse was especially jarring because he had expressed support for Al Qaeda on social media and was banned from flying in Oman because of concern over his extremist views
