Israel bars U.S. citizens over criticism and ties to Palestinian activists, lawyers say

Travelers arrive at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 5. Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty Images hide caption

RAMALLAH, West Bank — U.S. and other international travelers are increasingly being denied entry to Israel following interrogations about their connections to Palestinians, plans to visit the occupied West Bank and opinions of Israel, their lawyers say.

In August alone, Israel denied entry to a group of U.S. and other international comedians invited to perform for a Palestinian comedy festival, as well as to a U.S. multifaith delegation seeking to tour the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jerusalem with a Palestinian Christian organization.

Entry denials have risen sharply over the past year and for reasons that did not constitute grounds for denial previously, including suspicions of anti-Israel views, say Israeli lawyers who represent travelers who were denied entry.

"It's a tremendous change," said lawyer Adi Lustigman. "It's been like almost daily or at least weekly that we receive complaints by people denied entrance to Israel."

A Palestinian audience gathers in Bethlehem to see comedians from the U.S. and other countries perform live on Zoom after Israel refused to let the comics enter the country to participate in the Palestine Comedy Festival in the West Bank in August. Amer Zahr hide caption

In a statement, the Israeli Interior Ministry said it was unaware of the claims of an entry-ban phenomenon and said all travelers face the same rules.

Israel's Interior Ministry told NPR that since 2025, it has denied more than 21,000 requests for an electronic travel authorization, a pretravel screening that Israel requires for visitors from the U.S., Canada, the European Union and visa-exempt countries.