Washington, March 11 – The US State Department agreed to issue a visa to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich before the official’s visit to Washington, despite his call for the destruction of the Palestinian city of Hawara, Axios reported, citing sources.
At the end of February, two Israelis were shot dead by a Palestinian terrorist in the city of Huwara. After the attack, Smotrich, a senior member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, said that Israel should “erase” the Palestinian city. The media reported that the US State Department is studying the possibility of refusing to issue a visa to the head of the Israeli Finance Ministry because of his draft.
The Foreign Ministry has approved far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s request for a “diplomatic visa” ahead of his visit to Washington next week.
According to the portal, which cites a senior US official, during the consultations at the State Department, there was a general understanding that there was “a very high bar, both political and legal, for refusing to obtain a diplomatic visa” for a minister of a country allied with Washington.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has also made it clear that US officials have no intention of holding meetings with Smotrich during his upcoming visit.
