Are Palestinians allowed to travel to Tel-Aviv?
Palestinians, as you might know, don’t have an airport or to be more exact they don’t have an airport anymore. They had one in Gaza for only two years from 1998-2000 but it was destroyed by the Israeli army during the second Intifada which started in 2000.
How Palestinians do normally travel?
Let’s start by saying that we need to differentiate between, Palestinians who live in the west bank and Palestinians who live in Gaza. Those who live in the west bank can travel first to Jordan and then to any country in the world. Those who live in Gaza can travel to Egypt and then they travel to any destination they want.
In most cases, Palestinians face difficulties in traveling because Palestine is not a state and thus their passport is weaker, it is the fifth worst passport in the world.
Are Palestinians allowed to travel to Tel-Aviv?
As a rule, Palestinians are not allowed to fly from Ben Gurion Airport or any other airport in Israel. The Israeli authorities claim Palestinians are not allowed to for security reasons but this is not true. In some cases, especially those with large businesses, Palestinians are allowed to travel by airport with special permission but this is very, very, rare.
What about Palestinians who have a foreign passport?
Palestinians who have for example German, American, Austrian or any other nationality and do not have a Palestinian ID are able to travel to Ben Gurion airport but they might be interrogated for some hours. Palestinians with other nationalities but do have Palestinian ID are not allowed in any case to travel through the Israeli airport. A few years ago the USA asked the Israeli government to allow Palestinians who hold American nationality to travel through the airport and in exchange Israeli citizens would be allowed to enter the United States without a visa for three months. Unfortunately, the Israeli government refused this request.
