Israel announces trial period for Palestinian-American travellers

Israel on Thursday announced a month-long trial during which Palestinian Americans who live in the occupied West Bank will be given unrestricted access to Israel, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

It marks a significant moment in the country's decades-long push to join the coveted US visa-waiving programme.

"Today, the State of Israel took another important step towards its participation in the US Visa Waiver Programme," Mr Hanegbi said in a statement.

"The reciprocity outline will allow any American citizen to enter Israel, and subsequently when Israel is accepted into the programme, will allow Israeli citizens to enter the US without a visa.

"This reciprocity outline will apply to all American citizens, including those with dual citizenship and those who are residents of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip," he said, using the biblical name for the occupied West Bank.

Earlier on Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the new policies would "ensure equal treatment for all US citizen travellers, without regard to national origin, religion or ethnicity".

"Our understanding is that this policy will apply to all US citizens, including Palestinian Americans on the Palestinian population registry,” Mr Miller said.

Israeli authorities currently prevent American citizens of Palestinian origin who live in the West Bank or are going to visit relatives there from access to Israel, citing security concerns.

It also prevents them from travelling in and out of Ben Gurion International Airport.

Travellers must fly to neighbouring Jordan and then cross into the West Bank by land, a cumbersome and costly detour.

Exact numbers are hard to come by, but the Arab American Institute estimates between 122,500 and 220,000 Americans are of Palestinian descent. It is unclear how many of them live in the West Bank.

Arab and Muslim Americans travelling to Israel are also often subjected to lengthy questioning at Israeli ports of entry.

The development comes after years of Israeli efforts to join the US Visa Waiver Programme, a sought-after scheme that allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the America for tourism, business or transit, without needing to apply for a visa.

But to be eligible for the VWP, a country must meet specific criteria, including reciprocal visa-free travel for US citizens. Currently, 39 countries participate.

Israel's treatment of Palestinian Americans has so far made it ineligible for the programme.

On Wednesday, Mr Miller said the US government would make a decision on whether Israel should be admitted to the VWP by September 30.

"We will be monitoring their compliance with the policies they are announcing and their compliance with the visa waiver requirements, and we will see at the end of it whether they've met the full requirements for entry into the programme," he said.

Mr Hanegbi said Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Herzog signed a preliminary agreement setting the terms for Israel's possible entry into the programme.

A Reuters report on Wednesday said a delegation from the State and Homeland Security departments would visit Ben Gurion Airport and monitor the situation during the trial period.

Ties between the two allies have been strained over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extreme right-wing government's controversial plan to overhaul Israel's court system and over its hardline policies towards the Palestinians.

On Wednesday, Israel's President Isaac Herzog gave a speech to the US Congress, stressing “the sacred bond” between the two nations.

Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now

There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:

1. Rising US interest rates

The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.

Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”

At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.

2. Stronger dollar

High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”

3. Global trade war

Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”

4. Eurozone uncertainty

Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”

The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”