Are Palestinians Allowed to Travel to Israel?

By Engage In Palestine / March 13, 2022

Are Palestinians Allowed to Travel to Israel? Travel for Palestinians is not a simple process. As you may know, Palestinians do not have an airport accessible from the Territories. Gaza did have an airport for a short time starting in 1998; however it closed in 2000, and by 2001 it was destroyed by the Israeli military during the Second Intifada.

Movement for Palestinians in general is complicated, long, and arduous. It can also be bureaucratically inconsistent–not to mention expensive–making travel all the more difficult. Most foreigners are unfamiliar with the specifics of law under occupation and how this segregates Palestinians from both Israelis and foreign nationals alike. Below is an overview to better understand movement by Palestinians and how they travel outside the Territories.

How Do Palestinians Travel?

Depending on whether they live in the West Bank or Gaza, Palestinians within the Territories must travel to either Egypt or Jordan in order to travel more broadly. Palestinians in either of the territories face increased difficulties accessing the boarders, however much more so for Palestinians in Gaza.

Additionally, Palestinians of the West Bank will be required to travel an extra hour to reach the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan, though that’s nothing compared to the extra 6-hour journey Palestinians of Gaza must make in order to reach Egypt’s Cairo International Airport. The Palestinian passport is also incredibly weak: out of a passport index rating of 95, Palestine ranks 90 just after North Korea.

Palestine Airports

Sadly, Palestine lacks an airport, despite having one in the past. The Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza, near the Egyptian border, opened on November 24, 1998, but closed on October 8, 2000, when the second Intifada (uprising) began. Israeli soldiers demolished the Gaza International Airport during the time. Sadly, Palestine has had no functional airport since 2000. Unfortunately means that it is not possible to get a direct flight to the West Bank,Palestine.

Although the Yasser Arafat Airport was destroyed, three small Palestinian airlines still operate out of a local airport in Egypt.

Are Palestinians Allowed to Access Israel’s Airport?

Ideally it would be much simpler to travel through the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv rather than cross into Jordan and Egypt. However, Palestinians are barred from using this Israeli airport due to Israeli concerns over security. While some Palestinians are granted special permission to travel through this airport, such instances are rare.

What About Palestinians with Foreign Passports?

Palestinian ID-holders with other nationalities are also not allowed in any case to travel through Israel’s airport. Though the U.S. propositioned Israel a few years ago to allow Palestinians of dual citizenship to travel using the Ben Gurion Airport in exchange for visa-free travel to Israelis, the Israeli government refused this request.

Those of Palestinian ancestry with foreign citizenship–such as German, American, Australian, and so on–who are not Palestinian ID-holders may travel to the Ben Gurion Airport, however it’s very likely they will face interrogation by Israeli authorities, usually for several hours at least. Even Palestinians of the diaspora simply having a layover in the Tel Aviv airport should be fairly warned.

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