MINSK, 19 October (BelTA) – Israeli parliamentarians are looking into the growing number of denials of entry to Belarusians. The matter was raised as Chairman of the Regional Policy and Local Self-Government Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Alexander Popkov met with the Israeli MP Yoel Razvozov on 19 October, BelTA has learned.
The Israeli MP noted that Belarus is one of the countries, which cause the least amount of concern from the point of view of illegal migration. Yoel Razvozov noted he was in contact with the relevant authorities, drawing their attention to the safe status of the country. An absolute majority of Belarusians come to Israel as respectable tourists. Meanwhile, the number of denials of entry is on the rise. As many as 249 denials were issued in 2017 and 404 denials have been issued so far this year.
The Israeli MP said: “The problem does exist. We are dealing with it. It is important to give people tips how not to become part of an unfortunate situation and make lives of the border service personnel easier.” In his words, Belarusians should be told what documents they need to carry and what additional interviews in the course of border control are all about. After reading unpleasant stories online some tourists get confused when they talk to the border service personnel, thus giving reasons for unnecessary suspicion.
According to Yoel Razvozov, in turn, the Israeli side intends to improve the infrastructure in airports, increase the number of rooms for additional interviews in order to reduce the waiting time for tourists.
Prospects of increasing tourism traffic from Israel to Belarus were also discussed during the meeting. Alexander Popkov is confident that cooperation in this sphere has a great potential taking into account the fact that the two nations have a lot in common. A lot of Israeli citizens have Belarusian roots. They may be interested in learning more about the history of their ancestors, getting familiar with specimens of Jewish culture, and visiting, for instance, the birth place of the former Israeli president Shimon Peres, who grew up in the village of Vishnevo, Volozhin District, Minsk Oblast. It was noted during the meeting that in Israel there is a strong interest in the 2nd European Games Minsk 2019, too.
